TWO VIEN 
 I ME3OIP L 



TWO MEN



Oxford University Press
London Edinb1rglJ Glasgor Ner Yorl,
Toronto 21Ielbozcrne Cape Toron Bombay
Humphrey Milford pl, blisber to tbe Uni'versity



TWO

MEN

OE JIsE M O I R

OXFORD
PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

1919



The Cloisters,
To H. E. E.H. :Eton College,
l¢/'îndsor.
Ml r DE/kR HUGH,
I ara very glad I asked you to let me see the proofs
again, for the sight bas ruade it clear to me that a f-ormal
pref-ace f-rom a respectable Head Master would bc somcthing
oY an outrage. I can't imagine anything more alien fiom
the spirit of the New House than a solemn  apprecia-
tion ', and no one could know better than Southwell and
White how repugnant I should lïnd the task.
On the other hand, they could not mind my writing you
a lctter about them : if-there is one thing which this book
makes plain it is that in a ]etter there is nothing which
ma)" not be lït]y said when one is sure of one's correspon-
dent, and they would, I think, appreciate the fiction by
which I am supposed to disclose to you a lot o£ things
about them which you know already far better than I.
For the chaacteristic which stands out in my mind is
the amaz[ng power whieh both oç them lad of  making
believe 'mot rather of-making words and events and books
and circumstaaces generally serve their own particular
mood. The language which they imposed on the New
House is an illustration of it, and Southwell's power of



vi

giving an air of momentous gravit} to the most trivial
occasions is impossible to forget. No Masters' meeting
can ever be quite the saine to me when he isn't there to
address us on one of the subjects which he ruade his own»
though his harangue used (}ou will remember) to begin
with a confession that he was hot quite sure on which side
it was that he fclt so strongly. Thc importance of trifles,
the stores of humour to be unearthed from the common-
places of lif% the infinite issues depending on a word or a
phrase» until it was displaced flore its undeserved pre-
eminence by another equally unexpected, these are some of
the lessons which their daily lire displayed. They b.ad, in
a word» the truly  poetic' faculty, though it did hot find
expression in the consecrated form of verse. Southwell's
lines on page 6 9 and his astonishing achievement in
making his form into a nursery of English versifiers show,
perhaps, wlat he might have done, and of course I have no
means of knowing what secrets White told to lais violin ;
but however it may have been expressed» the power was
there : and if any critical reader complains that the instances
I have given suggest rather the fancifulness of children than
the inspiration of the author» I should answer that poets
and children have the greatest qualities in common, and
that when to their common powers of imagination they
add the grace of humility they form the chosen citizens of
the Kingdom of God.
Any one who happened to read this letter without the
book which it introduces might fancy that they dominated



vii

our Society at Shrewsbury by sheer force of personality and
insistence on their own lines of thought ; but to read their
letters is assuredly to realize that we loved them for those
very qualities of humility and unselfislmess which shone out
so supremely in the end. And here I touch on things too
sacred for speech: I can only say in ail sincerity that 1
know of none among ail my friends to whom the sacrifice
was greater or by whom it was made in a more noble
spirit.
They vould resent any attempt to draw a moral, but l
think they would not mind my saying that their lires and
death brought additional honour to one ofthe noblest of pro-
fessions, for they ]oved the lire and work of a scl:oolmaster
as only born schoolmasters can. And there is one thing
I know they would wish me to say, and that is that the lire
of our Society fiom which they went was for those few
years a nearly tk.at of a happy farnily as any which the
wole annals or" schoolmastering can show. The New
House, the Staircase, the Rehoboarnite Mcetings, Kitch's
room with its interminable discussions and uncovenanted
meals,--these are things which can never be forgotten
while one of us remains to bless the naine of Shrewsbury :
it never can happen again, but let us thank Heaven for the
happiness we knew and for the fi'iends from whom we
]earnt so much.

Yours ever,

C. A. ALINGTON.



viii

E.H.L.S.

Born--March I9,1886. Eton: King's Scholar--January,
I899. Magdalen Col]ege» Oxford : Demy--19o 4. 1st
class in Modcrations--19o6. znd class in Litcrae Huma-
niores--19oS. Stroke of Col]ege Eight: Head of the
Riveri9o ç and 19o6. Stroke of College Four: Head
of the River--i9o ç. O.U.B.C. Trials--19o 5" and
9e6. University Crew--,9e 7 and 19o8. Stewards'
Challenge Cupi9o 7. Leander CrewIgeS. Spare
Man for Olympic CrewtgoS. Assistant Master at
Shrewsbury School-- 9 Io.

BornJanuary z÷, 887. Birkenhead Schoo1--898.
King's College»Cambridgeigo ç. Voluntary member of
King's College Choir--9o ç to 9o9. Captain of Coilege
Boat--Igo 9. Assistant Master at King's College Choir
Schoo1--I9o8. Abroad in Berlin and Rouen--tgo 9.
Assistant Master at Marlborough College--i91o. Assis-
tant Master at Shrewsbury Schoo]--i9io.



CHAPTER I

SHREWSBURY

SEVTEMBER 1.910 TO MtRCH I9I "

EVELYN SOUTHWELL and M/tLCOLM WHITE came together
as masters to Shrewsbury in t9to; they left together in
x 9 x 5 ; and they both were killed in the battle ofthe Somme.
For those who knew them both it is impossible to consider
them apart; the memory of them is single. To their
contemloraries and to each other they were known as « the
Men '. « Man, it's rime to go into school.' « Yes, Man."
And so, in this account of their Shrewsbury life, they will
be spoken of as ' the Men '.

The following is an account of their first four terms,
written by one who lived with them during that rime :m
It is interesting to recall the impressions which they
ruade on their arrivalo White had visited Shrewsbury
before ; he came with experience of teaching at King's
College Choir School and afterwards at Marlborough
College, and with a reputation as a singer and violin-
player: a reputation which was entirely justified by his
performances. At first he made no very distinct impres-
sion, probably because of his shyness, and he did not seem
at once to tale very kindlyto Shrewsbur : he was constantly
recalling witt regret the rime he had spent at Marlborough,
|155



2 Shrewsbury, 1 91 o--I 9 1 5
but this phase did not last long: Shrewsbury soon became
to him the object of reverence which it remained until the
end. But several terres passed before he was valued at his
true worth, partly owing to his shyness and partl), owing
to his modesty ; the latter quality remained to the end as
one of his most striking characteristics ; it was so perfectly
genuine. He was an excellent violinist, and he must have
known it, and the saine may be said of his powers as a
singer, },et his skill in these directions was never obtruded,
nor concealed b), an), false modesty. If asked to play, he
would pla),, and his « That's rather joll),, isn't it ?" at the
end of the piece suggested that, quite unafFectedl),, he con-
sidered that the gratitude of the listeners was due entirel),
to the composer; in fact he seemed to join in the gratitude
and to regard himself as one of the listeners.
His keen sense of humour did not appear at once.
was of the  modern "t),pe which is best illustrated in litera-
ture by the work of  A. A. M. ' in Punch ; though in some
respects perhaps R. L. Stevenson was the forerunner of the
t),pe. At any rate, White's love for The H/'rong Box was
infectious, and quotations from that classic constantl),
accompanied our meals.
Southwell's arrival was somewhat different ; before his
coming in Ma), I9Io he was known to no one in Shrewsbur),
--apart from the Head Master--except as a first-class oars-
man. He arrived almost straight from a long visit to Paris,
and seemed at first very French ; his !ove of French litera-
ture and the French nation (c those adorable people" he
called them in at least one letter from the Front) remained
constantl), with him. He came about eight o'clock in
the evening of the day before school work began, and when
some of the arrangements were being explained to him that
night he caused some surprise b), inquiring about trains to



Shrewsbury  9  o- 9  )" 3
Liverpool ; he wanted to go to see an Oxford friend who
was leaving for America.
On his first morning the news arrived of King Edward's
death.  Southwell» the King is dead!' greeted him
through his bedroom door belote he was up.  No» really ? '
came back the answer in a tone of complete and absolute
boredom and lack of interest» soon followed by remarks
of interest and real concern. « No really ? ' spoken in
a non-committal tone of voic G was often his answer to a
remark either when the subject did not interest him or
when he was really thinking of something else; in the
latter case he generally shewed his interest very soon
after.
On another occasion after being very late on Saturday
night, he ,cent to bed at a quarter to eleven on Sunday
night; by a quarter-past elevcn he was sound asleep and
was awakened by,  Southwell» the fire-engine is coming
over Kingsland Bridge ; shall we go up to the school to see
if any of the boys are burning ? ' « No»' he answered ; but
within a few seconds he had collected himself» and rive
minutes later was round at the School Hous% where there
was a tir G happily a small one.
At Shrewsbury he had his first experience ofteaching and
his enthusiasm was extraordinary. Few meals passed without
his explaining exactly what he had been teaching and how
and who had done well and who badly ; this soon became
a source of amusement, in which he fully shared.
Another tact that is worth mentioning is the way in
which a remarkable friendship grew up between these two
men. It was not entirely due to common interests in
lire or a similar outlook; it seems rather to have grown
gradually, each man finding that the tastes of the other
interested him and were worth acquiring. For instance,
B •



4 Shrewsbury» 1 9 IO--I 9 I J"
Southwell's idea of music at tle time was musical comedy
White introducedhim to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and
Brahms, and there was an amusing discussion one night
when Southwell complained bitterly that no one had
told him of these men belote ', whilst he was wasting his
rime at Oxford with musical comedy music. But with his
extraordinary powers he went into the subject thoroughly»
as his notes on the St. irlatthevo Passion shew ; and inci-
dentally his piano-playing improved in the most remark-
able way.
Both men had one charactmistic in common--absolute
tb, oroughness in whatever they undertook ; though it was
shewn in different ways. When a new subject, or duty,
arose about which they were ignorant, if it were unimpor-
tant and uninteresting they probably would bave nothing
to do with it. But if it were interesting and important
(or even interesting without being important) then there
was no stopping until it was completely understood. With
White this would mean a kind of nervous restlessness,
asking questions, diflïdence in his own powers of compre-
hension and execution. Southwell, on the other hand,
was very quiet, mastered the facts, would never say that
he understood anything until he had completely mastercd
it ; in this way, to thoe who did not know him, he might
sometimes seem slow ; when suddenly he would shew that
he had grasped the whole thing and understood every point.
But in either case, if either of them undertook to do a thing
which seemed to them of any importance, it would certainly
be well done.

What follows is an account of their lire from September
9   onwards :--
Their first home was a bouse called  Broadlands' an



Shrewsbury I  I O--I  I }" }"
untidlz , comtbrtable p!ace high above the river with a view
of the twin spires and Haughmond in the distance ; and
there were dalzs when lzou smelt the autumn mist that
rose from the Severn and la t, wreathed about the town
and the tbur poplars, so that--as White said--one longed
for Corot to have painted it. The ramshackle state of
the house and garden» which was given over as a iungle
to the car, was a perpetual source of satistkction to the
Men. And there was the cons«rvatorlr which had no flowers
and the lift which sank monthl t, to the basement with a
shattered freight of crockert, , and Southwell would sa),  We
shall have to have a man up about it'. The hoase was
never taken seriouslt, i during one argumentative meal
White--unable to make himself heard--wrote up on the
wall of tl;e dining-com in chalk,  You owe me £.: OE: g',
and the inscription rcmained till we left the hous«.
It was a home of manlz interests, some fleeting, others
permanent. The life of the scl:ool was always of absorbing
interest to both, but never incompatible with astounding
activities at home. « Some Iambic composition is indi-
cated' Southwell said (both men adored Tte ,'ro,g Box);
and he sat up into the small hours wrestling with a volun-
tarlz coplz  which for a week on end remaincd the central
f-act of his leisure hours. Or the household would be
comp«lled to read Racine aloud, though Southwell alone
would fully understand it. He had been for some months
at the Sorbonn% end returned with a passion for ail things
French, so that tbr a time Phèdre and The Beloved Vagabond
alone would satis(y him. White was for ever full of
musical schemes and tunes ; he was discovered alone in
his room, with a full score of the Fifth Symphony on the
mantelpiece, conducting with the poker an imaginary
orchestra, which was reproduced by every manner of sound.



6 Shrewsbury  9  o-  9  Y
On Saturday evenings he played sonatas on the violin at
which he was expert Southwell accornpanying hirn on the
piano ; Bach Beethoven and Corelli would usurp meal-
rimes ; and on Sunday afternoons the folding-doors between
a sitting-room and the dining-room were opened and on
one occasion as rnany as forty koys carne to tea, and lay
about the floor reading or listening to sonatas and a string
quartet. The car was an intirnate rnernber of the house-
hold and from Southwell's unswerving devotion to it was
known as  The Groove' ; when the first kittens arrived
White burst into school and announced to Southwell in a
whisper»  Man» the worst bas occurrcd : there is more than
one cat in the house'.
Both rnen were expert oars ; Southwell had rowed twice
for Oxford and coached the School Eight for their first
appearance at Henley in 913- It was typical ofthe arnaz-
ing contrasts in his character that irnrnersed in a fugue of
Bach he should discover that he was overdue for the river
and after an hour's absorption in the science of rowing
return irnmediately with zest to the piano. In both their
rninds there was a strain of science as well as art. White
was a clear teacher of Geography and Tactics ; and there
was one Sunday when, in a sLx-hour discussion on the nature
of the Universe Southwell illustrated rnetaphysical argu-
ments by diagrarnrnatic arrangement of the tire-irons. It
was long after rnidnight when the discussion ended and no
one was satisfied with the result. And there was a day
when Southwell» having invited a guest to lunch at one»
arrived frorn his forrn-roorn at three» having wrestled since
i z.3o with a geometrical problem of which the prelirninary
data were erroneous. It was characteristic of him that
this was a voluntary labour entirely outside the range of his
work, undertaken for his own amusement.



Shrewsbury, 19 x o-x 9 x.r
Both men held stronglï the affection and respect of
the school. White had that perfcct control of boys which
enabled him to bring the atmosphere of a Christmas party
into form ; he would teach sitting among the boys or
standhg on the window-sill and swinging from a cord ; his
persistent good retaper ruade him see the humour of all that
occurred ; he could race a boy into school without loss of
dignity ; yet no member of the staff was more laboriously
conscientious over the preparation of his work ; and he
undervalued neither critical power nor imagination» neither
science nor Poetry. Southwell was unique as a teacher ;
his own accounts of his work were so self-depreciatory, and
often so comic that we never really knew what went on ;
but no boy who had been in his fbrm ever forgot it. He
probably spoke more freely and naturally to his form
even than to his friends. He read Poetry to them which
few can do with success ; and there was no doubt of his
success here. It was this that indirectly inspired the poems
which were written for him every week» some of which
were eventually published under the title of « V. B' when
he was in France. Few of those who bave read the book
will deny that it is a remarkable result ; for the poems
were writteri by average boys of sixteen» anti his detailed
criticism was small ; they were the indirect outcome of his
enthusiasm. Of his own delight in his boys' work his own
words from the preface of the book are witness :N
« There are going to be lines in your book x which bave
meant more to me than their writers ever knewmthough
Heaven knows I used to express my gratitude heatedly
enough. I forger how much I told you about the beginning
of the thing. It all started two years ago with those three
terrific poets» who set a fashion bound to be followed and
 The book was edited for him by a ffiend.



8 Shrewsbury x 9 x o- 9  )"
without w?om my little snowball could never bave come
together. Sometimes I longed to print every line in my
album; but that was absurd» and surely the poets whom
want of space excludes from print will not think themselves
or their works excluded from my memory.'
Sunday mornings were great days» for then the poems
arrîved» and he would read them aloud to us» rejoicing in
the poetry and revelling in the comic or grotesque ;  side-
steppingliterature' he would say ofgrislypassages that ruade
you shrink. He was a great phrasemaker and a toaster of
improbable quotations ; a passage from Three 2rien in a
Boat might illustrate a point in Virgil or Xenophon: he
had the humorous appreciation of a scho!ar fbr irrelevant
detail ;  Aeneas is fourth cousin three rimes removed to
Agamemnon; I think it is important' was a note sent
round to us one morning from his form-room. Ail his
scholarship took a picturesque form ; problems of grammar
he illustrated by diagrams on the blackboard, and it has
been hard for some of us to avoid plagiarism. But of the
spirit of the form his own pupils alone can adequately
speak; the R)urth Eclogue is still remembered by the
gestures with which lae declaimcd it ; for he would read it
to his form whenever Christmas drew near with the
enthusiasm of a religious rite ; and when one of his boys
was asked about the form» he said :  Mr. Southwell walks
round the room reading Homer to us with tears in his eyes."
And tlaat he was himself a scholar» is seen from this trans-
lation of Canon Beeching's poem»  Prayers ' :--

God who created me
Nimble and light of limb,
In three elements free»
To run» to ride, to swim:



Shrewsbury,  9  o- 9  ç
Not when the sense is dim,
But now fiom the heart of joy,
I would remember Him"
Take the thanks of a boy.

cep «ï« eor '  p.
Both men had keen athletic interests. Southwell had
charge of the schoo] rowing for ur year% and it ruade great
progress under his coaching. He was also an energetic
fives-player though the following corr¢spondence from their
form-rooms seems to tell another tale :
« What you want» you know is fo phy after IOE. Then
I should (Deducta est...) play too- (nê clr di) (in te).
« Do play aIter .
M. G. W.'

 No Courts, and less of it altogether, please.
'E. H. L. S.'

White was very versatile; besides his work and his
music, he found rime for football, cricket, rives, and rowing ;
few things gave him such pleasure as the occasion when a
house-four which he had coached won the challenge oars ' in
the Lent term of 94 ; their rate had exercised him for days
and nights beforehand and threw him wLolly into the
atmosphere of the Cambridge faces. Tlere was no game
or sport that he touched in which he did hot shine, if" not
brilliantly, at least successfully. He was an efficient otcer
in the O.T.C. He was a keen fisherman and skater, and
from the days when, as an undergraduate, he performed



i o Shrewsbury I9 o-9
incredible feats of roof-climbing over his colleg% a daring
cragsman.
The}' used their holida}'s characteristically. Southwell
was generally at home content with books and music.
These are extracts from his letters and postcards. The
first was written at a rime when he was leaving his home
at Newcastle for Worcester :--

To H. E. E. Howso. Bisivoio Jacob Hostel--
lecastle-uioon-
Dec. z3 x9II.
l've been lying a good deal here about the sadness of
leaving N/C, but often with m}' tongue in my cheek as ifit
would push through to the outside ; the change after all is
more to than from, the land of my nativity. As a marrer
of fact we shall miss the liveliness of this place somewhat,
but then it's always just when },ou're getting to like a place
that (Bromide; thank you). Sic itur ad l/orstra.
(Oh, very bad.)
I ara taking the liberty of sending along with this one of
the E. V. L. books as some token of the ardour with which
we await» Sir, your esteemed commands ; I hope ver), much
it's as good as the last one I read, which was The Friendly
Town ; he is usually I think, the most comfortable author
in Europe, A. C. B. a good second :  03 0' ;
I hope the Man arrived safe. Needless to sa), I have a
fearful cold, which ma), decide to be a chill an}, moment.
Otherwise I have nothing to complain of be},ond the need
of sending by post what I would rather deliver in person,
my best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.



Shrewsbury»  9  o-  9  Y  
To H. E. E. HowsoN. Bishop acob Hostel
Necastle-upon- Tyne.
) tan. % I9IŒE"
That b t, the book having been read which that man had
sent he himself» as by an incredible certain pleasure he
was affCted nor not» as the Greeks said» wonder:ully how
rejoiced» so for so great a gift to bave as greatest thanks to
be compelled he seemcd.
The Path (for surely it is worthy ofthis abbreviation-badge
of admission to the Broadlands classics) only arrived from
Messrs. Bowes this morning, and I bave now read some 13o
pages ; and it is really magniflcent. I have just reached the
« Praise of Windows '» a very comforting performance.
Otherwise nothing very much bas happened to delight or
bore me particularly: I bave gone within three plays of
finishing Racine» and shall no doubt do them before long--
though hot of course with any attempt at thoroughness.
The last took about I hoursç so you c,n see it is no very
studious perusal. But it gets over the ground and promotes
that hateful something that the Man would denote  atmo-
sphere "» which is all to the good. Also hardly less than three
hours per diem over the piano» especially the Liszt. It's
far beyond me» but i can get over the tituber to some slight
extent now. Dances are practically at a premium» one
only so far : ich grolle n&ht.
The Man's letter contains, 1 am persuaded» sufficient
marks of virility to justify its enclosure.

To H. E. E. Howso. llorcester.
(_/1 postcard.)
Guy _Mannering» vol. il» ch. 16.
 And a' the bairns tan to saddle Dumple' (D. Dinmont»
his pony).--]t bas just struck me that this is among the



 2 Shrewsbury  9  o- 9  "
more Epic things in W. Scott, and I do hOt think I should
leave you unadvised of the matter.

To H. E. E. Howsol. I4orcester.
(1 postcard.)
New Book by A. C. B. :
Hero confronted with fariner wearing  serviceable brown
suit and leggings'. Now that's what I call beautiful.

To H. E. E. Howsot. College--I,'orcester.
an. 3, 1913"
Look here, I don't think you're being very good. How-
ever, we'll try you once more.
This cornes from an old house up river where I stayed last
night for a dance. "

RUNE OF HOSPITALITY
(rioto the Gaelic)
I saw a strangr yestreen ;
I put food in the eating place,
Drink in the drinking place,
Music in the listening place,
la the Sacred Naine of the Triune
He blessed myself and my bouse,
My cattle and my dear ones.
And the ]ark sang in her song
Otten, often, often
Goes the Christ in the stranger's guise ;
Often, often, often
Goes the Christ in the stranger's guise.
To H. E. E. Howso. College__I4orcester.
Dec. "-3"
The Mozart is great fun, but though I played him
practically ail the first two days, he has to retire for the
moment. I ara having lessons from Ivor Atkins. He was
splendid. After being in the b.ouse rive minutes he said,



Shrewsbury t 9  o- 9 * r  3
 Now how much can you practise ? Tnree hours» I supposc ?"
So I said I would and he would hear of nothing but Bach's
forty-eight preludes and fugues, and started me on one or
the few that have rive parts. His playing of a prelude I had
ground away at was a perfect marvel. And here ara I
booked for Thursday with that fitgu% which I haven't yet
touched and a prelude going across country, 'for technique'
as he calmly put it--which I can nearly play badly after
some hours. A remarkable man, of whom I stand greatly
in awe.

To H. E. WALKER. College--l/L'orcester.
Dec. ŒES, I913o
I began Pickaick again for the I-don't-know-how-many-
eth time yesterday so you may take it I'm fairly happy !
started it in bed as usual--an evil habit, they say, but
don't find I read more than a few minutes, soit doesn't grow
into a nuisance. Don't get choked with it ifyou're reading
other things; chapter z 7 is about half-way, and I often
recommend people to go there and continue next term--
they don't often stop there for good! You'll like it all
right» or you wouldn't be no friend of mine!

Mr. Ivor Atkins has written what follows about him :--
 It was in the summer of 19Iz that I first met Evelyn
Southwell, and well I remember the impression he made
upon me. He had already about him a certain quiet strength
and a seriousness and a sincerity which to a great extent
ruade it easier to bridge over the years which lay between
us. However this may be, there quickly sprang up a
complete sympathy in musical matters, and his visits to
Worcester from that time were welcomed by me for the
opportunities they gave ofcoming into contact with one who



4 Shrewsbury, 9 o-9 )"
had a deep and abidingenthusiasm for music. In these all-too-
few visits there was always much to talk of. He must bave
shewn a missioner's zeal in making good music known to
the boys of Shrewsbury School, for he brought me glowing
accounts» from time to tire% of the success which came to
those who co-operated with him in the work of introducing
chamber music to them. The steady growth in attendance
of the boys at these little music-meetings was a joy to him»
and the fact that the best music easily won a way to their
hearts was to him a sufficient reward.
c His enthusiasm for music, and, perhaps» especially his
measureless admiration for Bach» made him very attractive
to me» and this attractiveness was only heightened by his
quietness and modesty. He was at the rime studying the
piano» in which I was able to give him some help» and it was
a great delight to me to watch him working at the forty-eight
preludes and fugues. Though his playing was wanting on
the technical side he more than ruade up for it by his insight
and sense of interpretation  and in discussing them with
me I was very early struck by his knowledg% and b t, the
clearness of his musical faculties.
« It was his habit to find his way to the organ-loft at
Worcester soon after his arrival in vacation tim% and I
round increasing pleasure in these visits. His coming was
always the occasion for some of the greatest of Bach's organ
works to be drawn upon» and though» as I bave said» he
had a considerable knowledge of Bach» he had had few
opportunities up to this time, I should imagine» of hearing
the larger organ works. This was especially true of the
Choral Preludes. His joy in a great work was splendid,
and I shall never forget his reception of the Fuga opra
)Vlagificat. He shared with another, whose ries to the
Cathedral were similar to his own» and who to% has ruade



Shrewsbury, 1 9 IO--I 9 1 " 15
the great sacrifice, a power of appreciation which was
nothing less than an inspiration to others. It was a
privilege to have known Evelyn Southwell, and though he
came into out musical lire in Worcester for but a short
rime, in that rime he brought into it sympathy and a high-
souled appreciation, which were of" more value than he
probably knew and he leaves a memory which I, for one,
shall long cherish.'

Such is a picture of Southwell's holidays. White went
farther afield ; to the Nant Ffrancon pass in North Wales,
which was a second home to him ; to Scotland for fishing ;
even to the Alps, tbr skating and skiing : and there were
stories of how he travelled in a domino mask or played
Dvok on his violin to a ring of open-mouthed peasants
in a station restaurant on the Swiss frontier. And beyond
ail this, there was the military training demanded of him
as an officer. Some of lais letters follow :--

To H. E. E. Howso. l»kerman Barrackswl/oking.
.,4trll zz, I9IZ.
Good mornin'. What ? These infantry "talions, what ?
Cimabue for brown photograph of picture by, many thanks.
I was so glad to hear from you. That may be a bromide
--but no it can't be, as it was true. \Ve have had a very
good and profitable rime. We both know all about every-
thing and have seen some very interesting fightin'.

To H. E. E. Howsol.  A/lere Cottage--Oxton.
Sunday, .4ugust I I, 191 Z.
Hasn't he really ? Probably, I think. Certainly. No,
I don't. I don't see what you mean by that. Yes, of
 His home.



i a Shrewsbury,
course. Exactly.
else. Yes, Yes.

I9IO-I9IY

Not at all. Have you ?
Yes, quite. Rather.
Meaning of above :

No, nothing

I don't teach him anything. But I know everything you
wish to know. You couldn't have corne to a better person.
I have the whole of the organisation oç the IVth £orm at
my finger-tips. This, added to extraordinary brilliancy,
political acumen, and an intuitive appreciation of the in-
terests of the boy, make me at once the model and despair
ofevery schoolmaster throughout the breadth of the land.
I too have been having a lazy time. Reading, trios,
quartets, lunching, dining, smoking. I have bought Bach's
Sonatas for violin and piano.
But see here. I bave taken the bull between the teeth with
both hands and bave bouglt a present for Kittermaster for
zç/-. It is a Medici copy of Leo. da Vinci's  Last Supper '.
I date say you think I ought to be exiled to Boulogn G Assisi
and Florence  after that, but I spent a whole morning trying
to think of anything else. Will it do?

To H. E. E. HowsoN. lere Cottage--Oxton.
8eptember IO.
I wired, because Mrs. Lloyd, answering a post card of mine
asking for trousers, said :
' No trousers here, van (sic) I send Mr. Howson.'
So thought that might mean that you had them. I think
now that ' van' should be ' can ', = can I send Mr. Howson
('s {so Schrumfkk Coll. Ed. Syr. Byz.}). All of which

 Tb¢ Pat to P0me: page o.



Shrewsbury» I9tO-tgty t7
means that shc probably proposes to send me yours.
Anyhow 1 ana sick of that subject, except that some
sort of Man must bave a pair of tl'ousers of mine.
Did you go to the Passion Music yesterday ? We played
Schubert and Bcethoven string 4rets yesterday Beethoven
and St. Saens trios in cvening, Schumann and Dohnnyi
pfe. quintcts this morning.
In the excitcment of man), wires coming and going I
set off for the dentist's carrying a large Nue and white
Italian vasc which l happened to bave in my hands when
Mrs. L.'s wirc arrived.
You know my opinion about The Ring and the Book. But
it improves for me as I get to Caponsacchi and Pompilia.
I know I shan't tinish my reading now, as I'm beginning to
fiss about Geography for next tertn.
That Man of ours bas been very silent these holidays.
Next terre! Hah!

To H. E. E HowsoN. x Alere CottageOxton.
Dec. zo» I9oE.
Catsa G his packing bcing tinished in one night, whcn he
had placcd a Man over the slaves and baggage animais,
which ho had left as a garrison at Broadlands, having set
out thence about the fourth watch, went into winter
quarters at the above address. This having been done he
sent letters : that he himself had slcpt a great deal ; that he
had spent some time in the toy department of a large and
neighbouring emporium on that morning; that he had
bought for a distant, small» and hitherto unknown cousin,
two charming ckckwork vmVlTIl M ; that it was in
mind to him hot to sçnd these IGHTIN-G MEN to his

' With a party of boys at Lake Ogwen in Wales.
 C



 8 Shrcwsbury»  9  o-x 9 x r
cousin but to kcep them for himself; for he liked thcm ;
that he hoped that thcy were having fun; /et them in
climbing the saine virtuc, liberality, moderation, goodness»
genius» which always belote in othcr matters» now use.
Carry my love to the ledge on the North Buttress.

To E. I-]. L. Sotr rwt.:t.L. 4rgentlèresFrance.
anuary +, 191 3"
All right--wc won't play the Grieg. I believe your
criticisna of Hungarian and Scandinavian finds ail that
thcre is of naost vulnerable in them» but I like them. I
havc it (the Grieg) bore in any case. I bave been playing it
and othcr things with a French lady bere wlo is rather good.
Tbere is quite a good piano here for a mountain place.
This is a wonderfl vallcy. Mont Blanc is the highest
mountain in Europe'. Mont Blanc is *the most beautiful
mountain in Europe '. \Ve have wondtful crême de menthe
looking glaciers at our door.
Ti:is place is packed with French pcople» all wry charm-
ing and amusant. On entend de la langue trës liquide.
Well, p'.caçe order tor me the Mozart Sonatas» and let us
do Nos. , XV» and thc one with two movements one
of which is a slow rondo.
Yes, 1 know about those Bach Sonatas ; we must do them.

To E. H. L. SOUTHWELL. 3lere CottageOxton.
Look hereless of it. What the dickens is the matter ?
I bave received the following tclcgrams.
() «Luggage not advanced price impossiblc! (The ex-
clamation mark is ours [ ours" you know].) Is it soon
enough I meet wlqat train Monday (How does any one
know I am going through Shrewsbury at ail on Monday ?)



Shrewsbury, 19 I0-I 91 J" I
with it or rnust if go." A weak firfish, that. No
signature.
Then at .o I get a wire, c Did you address, etc .... Address
Èvers!ey. Mar "(sic [ ' sic" you know]). Still thinking Fou
af Eversley, I wonder who Mar is (1 sce him as a leat,
spare man with a cast in his eye [in l'ris cye ? {hah}]).
Lastly I appeal fo you, apart frorn practical considera-
tions, to give this letter your closest study, as I feel that
it has considerable literary merit.
A very weak Man.

To H. E. E. Howsor. a$1ere Cottage--Oxton.
Fridab Ipri!  7"
It bas been a busincss. I Fearful reaction to-day, prc-
sents lying about and workrnen taking things fo pieces ail
over the place and whistling in hard sunshine, if ),ou
see what I mean. .
By Gad, we'll walk the Shropshire hills next terre.
Our dog was delving in the earth the other day, which
rerninded me that I should like to go fo Delft. I suggested
the saine to rny father. We are therefore going to Delft.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Mere CottageOxton.
Apr. IgI .
A good rnodern history is Outlnes of 311odern History,
by Grant. l've discovered how the Roman Epire bccomes
thc Austrian Empire. l've also rnade a discovery about
thc Eglish aristocracy on the way back frorn church, whicb,
I hope, will turn out well on consideration, l've also car-
ried rny godson right round the garden, where there is
a sight of blue \Velsh hills, nodding daffodils, and a west
wind full of wallflower srnell, al1 of which is none so bad.
* Written afier a Gmily edding.
C -



. good

zo Shrewsbury,
To E. H. L. SOUTHWELL.

I9XO-I9I

Lochshiel Hotel--
Advaracle--ArgyIIshire.
Aug. z 4.
! lave caught no fish but I have read and nearly finished
W. James" Varleties of ReIigious Experience» which is good.
I am glad you had a fine day for the F. Show. F. Show
looks iike a shopman's naine in a country town.
That's mysticism.
Next terre will be good. Think of those early morning
mists and « porridge and turns mixed '.
Well, I apologise for the entire above.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Lochshiel HoteI--
Achar acIe--Argllshire,
Sept. 3"
Oh a ver}, grcat place I think. And 1 bave seen Sk)'e,
away in the distance» the Coolins sticking up ail nccdly into
tle air--and Rum, Eigg and Muck lying so bluc and nice.
And the ç@oç, oh ] the çdç¢. Andthe fish. They don't fise
a bit: 1 bave caughtjust about three really respectable ones.
A nice strange hostelry this. Various rides of visitors
have cbbed and flowed over us.
\Ve ail talk about flies» and the badness of the fishing,
and the fishing we once bad in South Uist.
I go to the Chantry ncxt Monday. Bach (St. Matt.
Passio») and Brahms' ReŒEuiem. Think of it.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Acharacle.
I ara ordcring tle book on Philosophy by this post, though
1 have the Ring the Book» the Camel and the Needle's Eye,
by Browning» and Ponsonby» here with me.
l hoFe to finish W. James this evening.
* Marginal note by E. H. L. S.



Shrewsbury, t 9 t o- t 9 x " 2 

Tot t. E. E. Howso. Mere Cottage--Oxton.
Dec. zS» 19I .
I ara rathcr fiat, and start to-morrow for Hotel Meyerhof,
Hospcnthal, and you will write to me there, and have you
ieft Cambridge, and did you get the harmony book and I
bave ruade some progress with a new one of my own, and l
havc a superb ncphew, and all sorts of nice people send me
Christmas cards, and some had holly berries on them, and
some had just sprigs, yes sprigs, and you will write, won't
you, to a Man ?
The last page of this is like certain forms of poctry with
a point at the end ofeach rather formless stanza, fs it hot
modern? Is it hot art ?

To H. E. E. Howsoy. Hosl, enthal--$witzerland.
_t.  9  4-
We are entirely alone here, in a hotel of a tolerable
size, with the usual lounge, etc. Therc was a man here
br a bit, whose presence seemed entirely unreasonable, and
jut about the rime of his departure we were in danger of
being kept awake by the hand whose sole audience we were
werc wewhose sole audiences[ shall never make a
success of that sentence. This place is kept by the family
Mcyer, who have lived in this valley for centurics  rather
interesting. Tribalstage ofsocietyliberalismtotemism
--morality.

In May I9I 3 we left Broadlands. Among later memories
of thc place stands out the occasion when one member
of the house became a temporary invalid through concussion
after skating» and thc advent of a nurse caused so much
rearrangement of rooms and furnitur% and such confusion
and laughter of thc Mon, that a misfortune was turned into



22 5hrewsbury,  9  o-i 9  
a picnic; or a night at the end of a winter ternb whcn
• examination papcrs were correctcd far into the night with
intervals for biscuits and cocoa. Gcorge Fletcher i left us
at  a.m. and went to his bouse across the river shouting
the 2VleiçtÆrsi»gÆr ; and therc w«re some of the party who
were still found working by the dawn. It was something
of a tragedy to leave Broadlands and ail that ¢human
disorder and organic comfort which makes a man's house
likc a bcar's fur br him'; but it was a change to civil-
isation and wc bccamc respectable householdcrs. The
new homc was a housc recently built br masters nearer
to thc boys' bouses; £rom thc iïrst it was known as thc
«New House ' and when a dctnite naine bccamc nccessary
this clung to it. It was a largcr bouse than Broadlands
with a wide view to Wcnlock and the Stretton hills ; R.F.
Bailey joined us, and£or a termGeorge Fletchcr, till he
went to Eton. TI:c garden shewed promise of- more
civilised tastes, and many of" the designs, both insidc and
outside tlae house were chosen by the Men tlemselves.
These letters f"fore Southwe]l are, relics of a fevered
holiday preceding the change :

To H. E. E. Howso.

E,versle)'Kingxla»d
Sbre'w3ur.r.
Proposal B. _/lpril
. Tour carpet now in dining-room to new dining-room.
ŒE. Tour carpet now in your sitting-room to your new
sitting-room.
i An assistant toaster at Shrewsbury from Sept• rgr r to july
xgrj» and after that at Eton. He served as an officer in the
Intelligence Corps throughout the Great Retrea b was then
attached to the, Royal Welch Fusiliers» and was killed in action on
March zo» i9 .



Shrewsbury,  9  o-i v  " z 3
3- My sitting-room carFet to my bcd-Joom.
Disadvantages: (a) Your sitting-room carptt is vcry
bad ; Mrs. Lloyd says it will burst in holcs whcll taken up,
if hot carefully done : this suggcsts bed-room hot sitting-
room. (b) My sitting-room carpet in my bed-room seems
vasteful. But, advantage lbryou:--
House buys yaur carpet instead of mine.
Therc you have the whole situation mapp«d out at geat
expense of thought.
If you'll think hard, I think )ou'Il sce what all this
tabulated rhetoric means.
G. M.R. says this is likc Tbe oe'ra»g Box, and [ patly
believe it.

To M. G. "VHITE /IND ['-]. E. E..Howso.
collegeII/orcester.
Ipr. 4, 913 .
l've said «.çeed grass not turf'. He  pointed out that
it would mean no gaines br threc months» but that
even so when the weather was dry we cauld walk on it
if necessary. On the other hand the grs is a 'v. èç
e] and all that and he argued in Demosthenic wise that it
would be very bad for the sake v¢ ««vx' ov; to
have the thing turfed and necessarily full of weed seeds»
and coarser. This 1 hope you'll agree with. If you agree
as clearly as I do with him on the int we won't waste
time by writg all round the quintet. I was disappointed,
but we can still have some fun there and we bave prospoets
of our subsequent summers and rv tOv«rtu to take
care of.
We had a long talk as to continuing hedge on mound

I The gardener.



2 4 Shrewsbury x 9 x o-x 9 x "
right round» but there were various reasons against that,
which we can talk of when wc meet. It took  hours to
hatch this idea. I also said he might put in one long
flower-bed at end of garden; he urged that it wouid be
rather dull otherwise.
Personally I would as soon have had lawn right up, but 1
believe one bas a claim ruade on one by flowers rather» and
it will do us no harm to have some at the end thcre to
play with. l'm awfully stupid re flowers and I think it's a
]ittle absurd.
Interlude ; I'm sick of this.
lvor Atkins at supper said he played a big Bach Choral
Prelude to-night thinking I should be thcre.
Boy I told ),ou of sang Passion Musiç better than any ont
[. A. has heard. Heart-breaking we missed it. Look here ;
choir returns April zz. 1)o corne on way back and hear bim
and stay a day or two.

This was Southwcll's attitude to thc New House. White
regretted the absence of machiner), in the hall ; the sort
with a icatheln, undulating ber that whirrs ceaselcssly and
goes ' p-lonk ' as he said. Both men always regarded
engineering as a sorrowful mystery. The new bouse
soon becamc a home, and the)' bccamc intimate with new
surroundings.
Men with such a fceling for words and phrases wcre clearl),
enamoured of books. Neither was in a truc sense ' widely
rcad' perhaps ; but both had the rater gift of remembering
intimately and in detail the books of which they were fond ;
and when once an author, were he Shakespeare or Jerome K.
Jerome, was admitted a classic of the house, quotations
from him wcrc permanent. Southwcll's shelves in parti-



Shrewsbury 1 9  ç- 9 1  2. "

cular comprised a strange medlcy, ltalanta in çalydon living
neighbour to a volume on the Golf Courses ofthe British Isles.
But there wcre favourites in common to both ; Richard II»
Orthodoxy» The Four 2rlen» Ronsard's poems» The Pick.wick
Papers (on which Southwell was almost infalliblc), thc Song
of Taliesin from thc dlabinogion The Ratée B.eI» Sait-
l#ater Ballads» and a,/Shropshiri Lad; Lamb's Essa),s werc
cspecia]ly dear to White, and Southwell read The Pirate
cvery Christmas. Pcrhaps the most quoted and bcst-lovcd
book of ail was The Path to Rome" Charles Amieson
Blake was an accepted membcr of the household» as xvas
Michacl Finsbury. Of the Classics, Virgil was the spccial
favourite. On the wholc, ;hite had thc botter lnemory
for subject-matter, Southwell for dctail • but this is hot to
limit an exclusive province for eithcr. For both quotcd
frcely" « Not what I need (said the 13abc) but vhat I want ; '
« Why, thcn, I xviil bave somc of that excellent bccr ;'
 Positively thc last appcarancc of thc Grcat Vance" (the
latter Southwell would quote to his form on the final exit,
it may be, of Polyphemus). Thesc are phrases that recur to
the memory ; and of other litcrature :
To-day the Roman and his trouble
Are ashes under Uricon»
or
Rue» even fbr ruth herc shortiy shall bc Sçl'l
In the remembrance of a weeping queen.

They both spoke strongly in approval or disapproval of
books that they liked or disliked, with feats of exaggeration
that were humorous, but ncvc,- intolerant. For ail that,
Southwcll, who had an infinite patience with tiresome
conversationalists and was generous to a fault, could bc
impatient with a tiresome author. He forgave mcn more



26 Shrewsbury 1 9 I O--I 9 I J"
readily than books ; },et even in his litcrary antipathies he
never Iost balance: whatever is meant by the  Artistic
Tempcrament', creative or critîcal» ît shone clcar in him ;
so clear, indeed, that hs obvious sanity over ali things vrai
anti human was thc more remarkab!e. Though his pre-
fcrence was tbr imaginative writing, he shcwcd remarkable
grip of ail argument, for all his pretencc that he could hot
follow thc plot of KidnaI)ped. His standard in grasping
the mcaning of an autl:or was so l;igh that, wherc othcrs
might claim to bave arrived he scemcd to himsclf hardi}'
to bave set foot ut'on the way. Once fascinatcd by an
autb.or, ho was only content when ho had searched for his
inncrmost mcanhg and thrown light on cvcry obscu,ity.
He would cvolve long gencalogies to clcar up a point, but
he was nevcr a pedant. Though he was, by his own con-
fession, an amateur in music, his dctailcd analysis of parts
of Bach's St. Wlattkew Passion is tronged wJth idcas ; and
thcre was one Saturday in terre rime whcn wc had a break-
down after rnotoring to a Foint tweive mlles from Shrews-
bury and six from any station ; after six hours' unavailing
effort, we acccpted the inevitable at midnight ; and at 1.3o
Southwcll was still reading himself to seep, on the floor or
an inn-parlour, with an article on harmony in an encyco-
pacdia chosen at random from the shelves. He was seldom
heard to talk of politics, andstrangely cnoughwith
few exceptions, such as thc ' Mona Lisa ', pictures had littlc
interest for him ; charact_ristically ho devoted his rime
almost exclusively to other çorms of art which appealcd to
him more. White said of him that, had ho not bcen a
schoolmaster, he would bave been known as a critic ; and it
is probably true. Yet imagination was the reigning quality
:ven of his criticism  that is clearly seen flore these notes
of his, taken from his copy of the .4eneid :



Shrewsbury 9 ro-91 f 27
Book z. I-i 3.
These are lines whose appeal is hot all Virgil's own, and
yet I read them almost kneeling. For in them is shewn
a glimpse of the wl-.ole conscious soul of the Epic. It s
hot often that we catch the Epic Muse introspectîve. Yet
here I thinl% if anywhcr% she sits pondering in sad triumph
with ail the cities of antiquity boidered on hcr robe, and
nursing nearcst ber heart ail that they bave est of powess
and of pain. Great sieges and long endurance, patient
wandcrings and the enmity of Hcvenall thcsc arise to
meet the vision of the greatest city of ail time, whose
bundations were laid in song. And more there clings
round those lines some of the strange morning-wondcr of
the Middle Ageher lawns afire with minstrels and her
colleges dreaming in ston% and the long memory of the
dear company of scholars» our kin, xvho in ways brgotten
of wisdom and of folly bave gloried or blundered over the
tale. Let us go gently and re member our fathes, as befits
men approaching a great mountain Valhalla of the praises
and pains of amous men.Lie quiet, Dido : it is the last
hour of Troy.
8oek 2.2z. '
Simile, short. ut this point bas tu bc considercd; I
ara hot yet sure ff I tbink a simi]c m»t be long tu be among
the best. The end of the Scholar-Gpu , of course, and some
of Homer's and Virgil's ; I think I like the long oncs best.
Book 6. 8."
1 correct mg version ofthe Is&s ofGreece with  obcuntia'.

' Qualis mugitus, rugit cum saucius aram
Taurus et incertain excussit cervice securim.
 magnas obeuntia terras
Tot maria intravi duce te.



28 Shrewsbury,  9 t o- 91 
I don't think  mulcentia' will do: too much of it alto-
gether.
Book 6. zo3. 
 Gemina '» if right» is one of thc « loncly words '. If is
right for four reasons, which I know.

Book 6. 34 .
• Tendebantque manus ripac ulterioris anaore.' Thc
definition» I think» of Poctry.
Book 8. z÷--. "

C. thinks ' rcgia' is in mockcry : it will hot do. For
() the whole passage is stately, (.) Virgil bas hot much
scnsc of humour.
8ook 9" 9"-"
«Prosit nostris in montius ortas.' I will have so:n¢
un somewhere with this line.

White had Southwell's love of imaginative writing. If
he had not himself so marked a gift of sclf-exprcssion the
power was not wanting. His interests were varicd ; he
was fond of idealistic discussions on religion» history» and
politics» and could read a text-book on « Insanity ' without
a trace of morbid interest» with profit» and vith appreciation
of the humour of such an action. Ho was intcrcsted in
problcms ofthc day» but impatient ofcatchwords andlike
Southwcllfully aware of how much was nceded before he
could daim understanding of a subject. He was fond of
pictures» particularly of thc English water-colour scbool
and the landscapes of David Cox ; with the realism of the
' Sedibus optatis gemina super arbore sidunt (columbae}.
: At specus et Caci detecta apparnit ingens
Regia.



Shrewsbury    e- 9  f
1)utch painters too, he had great sympathl,. Though he
said himself that» had he had the power» he would gladly
have devoted his lire to poetry and eriticism of potrt, , it
is with music that he is more csp¢cially associated. He
felt the debt which he owed to Southwell for literal- t, in-
terest» and Southwcll was as grateful to him for what he
had learnt of music. It was the claims oçthe Cambridge
Musical Club which» as he said with amused regret» left
him at the end or" a Cambridge terre with nothing but an
undigcsted spccch of Ciccro to his credit. Yet he was far
froln blind to the beauty of the Classics» and had been one
of many who were alive to the inspiration of \ralter
Headlam. At King's he was a voluntar member of the
choir tbr sevcral gcars. Till Shrewsbur t, won the tirst
place in his heart» Cambridge was to him the home of
that ruade lit best worth living. He left it with a know-
ledge of men» and a mind awake to innumerable interests.
Not least of its gifts to him was the power to take part in
a string quartct» often at first sight, with confidence and
skill. Iîle had a grcat memory for tuns» and could
remember without hesitation a passage whici he had
once heard» and that some years before. Man t, will re-
member his solo from the .Ieiteriger» sung at a school
concert» followed soon afterwards by a difficult sonata of
leethoven for the violin. He was devoted to Purcell and
the English ¢omposers of Madrigas ; and perhaps his
gleatest musical achievement was that, largel through
his connexion with the \Vorkers' Idueational Association,
he organiscd fort t, Feople from the town» wl:om he con-
ducted once a wcek iii madrigals and folk-songs for
concert which was onl prevented b I, the outbreak of war.
 Such as tbund out musical tunes and recitcd verses i
writing.' Tl-e words seem vividl t" to r«call them botl.



3o Shrewsbury, IgIO--IgI )"
At the New House the time s]ipped happily by-" there
was the work of school hours every day of living intcrest
to both» nnd in the evening we would « sit round" (to use
Southwell's phrase) and (with Southwell himself often
as]cep in a chair) discuss books theories or th¢ day's events
or there would be boys to tea and one would look into
Southwell's room and find a silent ring engrossed in books
belote a winter tire ; thcre was the £amous night on which
a dog barked persistently in  gardcn a/ong the road and
Gcorge Fletcher cxaspcrated» ventured out in pyjamas at
th ree in the mo rning» and cried cmphatic/ly at the oènder's
gate- «Take in your dog» sir! Take in your dog;' the
bouse was tenantcd as was discovered later» by thrce
maiden ladies.
On November ï Whitc annually let off rive fireworks
in thc garden drcssed in a scholastic gown and broad-
brimmed Ilt hat looking for ail the world fike « Tall
Agrippa' corne to life: and therc was a lazy summer
aftcrnoon when Southwell in a fit of boredom suddenly
announccd  A ride in a cab is rcquired ' ; and within the
hour we were wandering sleepiiy round Shropshire lanes in
an open victori% whose driver bad orders to stop at every
bridge» wiacre he rcceivcd a cigarette while we watched the
tream undcr thc willows; and so lom% when South-
wcll fled to the river to coach the Hcnley Eight or
p]aycd thc l Tth Fugue of Bach which he called  The
Foundations of thc Earth'. Mcals wcre necessarily spas-
lnodic and White would heighten their irregularity by
prcsenting arms from « Thc Port  or giving a detailcd
rendering of thc  Eroica sympbony'7 or imitating a puma
in its cagc at thc Zoo. On wintcr evenings wc would
find exercisc by running in thc dark ; and on Thursday
mornings, having no carly school Southvcll practised this



Shrewsbury, I 9 IO--I 9 I J" 3 I
aloe belote brcakfast, recalling the days of Putney. And
on summcr aft«rnoons there was crick«t fo watch, or we
sat in the garden by the half-grown priver hedge ; « and if
it doesn't grow quickly ', $outhwell would say,  we shall be
overlooked by a long-nccked man in a straw bat.'
Expcditions wcre ficquent; sometimes "up river' ; some-
rimes (in winter) to thc town, from which $outhwell would
return with twcnty collar-studs and an early edition of
Ossian ; sometimes to% f-artl:er afield often in company
with boys to the Breidden hills or Ludlow or Church
Stretto% to climb Caradoc. Southwell oft«n went by him-
self on the spur of the moment, and visited the Long Mynd
or lost himsclf on the uplands of Cltm Foresto Or White
would be taken in Gcorge Fletcher's side-car and togcthcr
they would scramblc on the rocks of the 8tiper-stoncs. To
both Southwell and White the proccssion of the seasons
was a pagcant; the winter terre was always the most
welcome» but all times ofyear had their glamour and mystery.
They appreciatcd the fi reside and the hills alike, the  Friendly
Town' and the « Open Road " November winds and days
of heat in summcr whcn it xvas almost too hot to row ; and
all with an affection tbat was far stronger than mire liking.

' How well 1 know what I mean to do
When the long dark autumn-evenings corne,'

White quoted in a letter; and it was a happiness common
to them both.
Behind all their tastes and interests, Skrewsbury was the
dominant fact ; to the school they were devoted with a
rare measure of unselfishness. To strangers they were
reserved, and however freely they might speak to friends,
this reserve was a permanent feature of their characters.
Words meant much to them, nor did they laugh freely at a



3 2 Shrewsbury» r 9  o-r 91 
joke unless thcy wcre amused ; their reticence never ruade
othcrs feel awkward, ),et their approval was a compliment.
Unr«al enthusiasm and bad taste ruade them unhappy»
and they coincd a new word,  spinal ",  for the feeling,
yet their scnse of humour invariably prevailed» and left
thcm generous and kindly. They were readilyadaptable to
new places and surroundings, though the power of self-
adaptation came to White by eoEort and to Southwell by
nature ; but thcre was no circle which after a month did
hot receive both with open arms. White felt himself a
stranger fbr a rime at Shrewsbury ; he was drawn by so
many inccntivcs and was the slave of so many visions, that
thc settled Iabit ofsurrcnder toits atmosphere came slowly
and he was beset with doubts as to his ultimate work.
Thesc uncetainties gradually faded, andby the rime that
he lcfttbe place and its lire la), close to the centre of his
al{ctions ; he felt happy in his work, and one of his col-
leagues darcd call him thc ideal schoolmaster'. It was
high praise, but at lcast shews that Ahite was hOt far from
finding his life's work. Southwell» with equal humility,
was yet lbnd of Shrewsbury from the day of his arrival, and
his happincss was inctious. Throughout, it was the one
rcal pivot of his intcrtsts. Religion was to both a thing
of wonder, hot to bc cxpressed in direct speech, defying
analysis, but vital. Lit? remained to them a mysterious
web, shot with tears and folly and that laughter which
marks a « gross cousinship with the most high, and feeds a
swing of merrimcnt in the soul of a sane man'. Their

 This word, which occurs fi'equently in their letters, was a
word used 11 the household to express the uncomfortable feeling
in the small of the back» produced by embarrassing recitations»
etc. But its context in each case will best explain its meaning.



Shrewsbury» 9 o-9  f 3 3
humour was of that rich sort which does hot paraphrase
itself, but confideutly assumes its cquivalent in others ; yet
it was never cynical, and never tar removed from sympathy.
It is for thes% among other gifts, that their memory is
treasured.

At the beginning of August 191 + the Shrewury Corps
went to camp as usual» and \Vhite was with the contingent.
On the outbreak of war camp was broken up, and for a
timc it secmed possible that he migbt be called up as a
Territorial Officer. But in the course of a few wccks it
was decided by the War Office that only such officers of
the O.T.C. as cotfld b,e spared from the schools werc to
go ; and White was nceded at Shrewsbury. In view of ff.e
courage with which ho faced ail risks later on» it is perhaps
not unf:air to quote flore onc of his letters words which
show lais first, instinctive attitude to foreign service;
indeed they emphasise the high quality ofthe courage which
could overcome his doubts, and enable him to say later,
' The only thing I ara reaily afraid of, is that I shall be
afraid '.

To H. E. E. Howso,. The Hill-Top
ladlettHertfordshire.
lugust I 91 c.
I came down here yesterday to stay with my sister at a
charming little house, l've still had no news as to what
is being done with O.T.C. officers.
l'm feeling very cowardly al:out it all ; doing nothing,
and not a bit keen about volunteering for foreign
service, and wretched with myself for hOt being keen to
OEO SOo

t, D



34
These arc
timc :
To H. E. E. Howso.

Shrewsbury 191 o- 91 "
furthcr lctters of his writtcn at the samc

The Hill-Top-- Radlett.
lug. I9, I914.

[On a picture post card, shwing a photograph of a bouse ;
he had marked onc of the windows with a cross.]
This is hot my bedroom. In fact, I don't know who
docs lire in that housc ; nobody that I know.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. The Hill-TopmRadlett.
_/Iugust 26» I9I 4.
At prescrit l'm just sitting. The food and the beds
are good. I have two beds. And l've rcad N. Angell on
Balka» l¢ars and Peaces very good ; .[a»e Eyre ; Stalky OE Co. ;
The Simpkins Plot ; 1Veto Irabian Nights again (Providence
and the. Gultar is tl;e best short story over written. « The
grcat thing about the stars is that they bclong to everybody
in particular.' « Art is Art," he repeated sadly.  It is hot
\Vatercolour Sketches nor practising on a piano. It is a
lifc to be livcd.'); al1 Synge's Pla),s; Marshall's Economlcs,
a little ; Enoch -Irden ; The 2lltcsketry lade 2llecum ; Gals-
worthy's A Country House» a bad moral, but good as a series
of tums and smart set coaversation.
l've done a good dcal of Harmony and ara beginning the
cxercises on thc diminished 7th. Brahms' Symphony in F
is good» and so is the Schumann pïfttte. Concerto. Hcard
both last weck. We are going to a Beetloven and Bach
programme on Friday. You would corne too if you were
in town but 1 suppose you won't be. Ring up if you are
(Radlett
By Gad» I ana hating this war. I hopc things will go



Shrewsbury, I 9 I O-- I 9 I  3 

better soon. I wish we hadn't got a week's extra holiday.
The Man keeps ringing me up at home, in spite of the
fact that I'm away.
l've been bitten by a fly in thc leg, and can't walk--
there !

In Scptembcr, with another Shrewsbury officcr, he helped
with the training ofa battalion oftbe K.S.L.I. at Blackdown,
having charge of a Company of z$o recruits, and stayed there
till thc beginning of October, when terre began at Shrews-
bury.
XVe were all of us glad to bc back to definite work after
thc suspense and inactivity of the long hol[day. That
Michaelmas term there was much to be done, for whi]e
work and gaines continued unaltered, exccpt in quantity,
thcrc was a whole new province of mi]itary work ; new
lecturcs to be giron, field-days to be planned, and squads
of senior boys to be trained for service. Sevcral masters
left the school at the start, to join battalions. White
was left in command of a Company, and Southwell, who
had hitherto had no connexion with the Corps, joined as
a pfivate. In man), ways the life of the household was un-
changed, but what had before been leisure hours were largely
given over to military work, and the days were seldom long
enough for all that had to be donc. Southwe]l round
ceaseless amusement in the thought of himself in this new
part, and was for ever drawing ludicrous pictures of the
character of the «practical man', and pretending that
military science was beyond his grasp. Towards the end
of the term he strained himself on a field-day, and an
operation was necessarï. He put up with this cheerfully,
and shewed amazing equanimity, and afterwards looked
back almost with pleasurc on the time spent in the nursing-
D "-



3 6 Shrewsbury, t 9 x o-x 9 x r
home. \Vl;en he was convalescent many fictitious or
ncglcctcd bottles of medicine were sent down to him from
the New Housc ; for it had always been his habit to forger
his tonics for a week avd make up for his omission by
a comprehensive dose at the end. His cheerfulncss was so
inffctious that his visitors became hilarious and almost
endangered tb.e spced ofhis r¢covery. The Christmas holi-
days were spent by him in convalescence, while White at
F.ome helped with the training of Bantam battalions, with
intcrvals of relaxation, as on the occasion whendressed
in fill uniformhe met a visitor on Birkenhead platform
with a demand to pull a Christmas cracker on the spot.
During the Lent termtheir last at Shrewsburycame
thc news of George Fletcher's death in the trenches. In lais
own words from an inscription he was still « Novac Domus
socius '. And though for some terres he had been at Eton
and then at the Front» it was impossible not to think of him
as a member of the household. This is part of aletter
written by him ri-oto the Front shortly belote his death :
' 1 bave now had dinnerIrish Stew, Beer Sardines on
Toast» Marmalade. Also the sun is streaming in with
some rcal warmth and I ara feeling hearty. I will there-
fore makc some general remarks on the subject of rar.
' There may be some excitement in it, but that takes the
form of a fearful strain on the nerves without any of the
exhilaration one usually associates with danger. Perhaps
a day attack can be exhilarating: in fact the only rime
! bave been pleasurably excited was when the enemy
attacked us b), day and we knocked them down. Our
attack is yet to corne. The fact remains that war is a bore
and we are ail fed up with it.
« Death ; one becomes a fatalist on this subject and looks
firward resignedly to the prospect of extinction: « That



Shrewsbury, I 9 I O--I 9 1 j" 3 7
moving Fingcr writcs, and having writ» Movcs on . . ."
And again another poct saith,
And there are several other writers whose remarks are to
the point on the subject» not the least being those of thc
Labour Party of Galilee.
« Fear and Courage ; I think it was a man called Socratcs
who said that Courage was a right knowlcdge of such
things as are to be feared : and to a considerable extent,
ho was right. When you know how little damage a
high explosive shell does to you compared with the noise
it makes, you don't fear him so much. But Socrates is
only partly right. I know what a foel a shell is and
what a fool a bullet is and yet I ara terrified of both.
But a more insinuating and demoralising fear which
seizcs man is an entirely illogical unreasong fear of the
eucmy as such; imagining m to possess surhuman
qualities when he knows he is very human. Hence the
great thing is» and will be, to make men realise that the
enemy is much more afraid of you tn you are of him.
Hate is non-existentat a events on our side, I
think on the enemy's too. He too is capable of ing
jovial in his enmity towards us» and will signal misses
or bull's-eyes when we plug his loop-holes.
 Atrocities; I haven't seen any. AH first-hand evi-
denceeven that gained on the Retreatgoes to prove
that the German soldier as a whole is capable of gentle-
manly and chivalrous behaviour and of s he has given
numerous examples.
«The Future  in front of us there is a ridge on which
we can see three rows of trenches» barbed» barricaded» and
cunngly dug. These we shall have to deal with aRer his



38 Shrewsbury» 9o-9 f
first line. They probably have several hundreds of tl:ese
behind those we see. In October the Germans» with
unheard-of courage» determination, and force, tried to
break through a single line of ours and tailed.--rell,
what abaht it ?"
At the end of the lcttr was a passage exhorting both
the Men to join 8attalions. Southwell himself said later
that it was George Fletcher's death as much as anything
which prevailed upon him to go i and White shews
his feeling in this letter :--

To C. R. L. FLETCHEIt. Tbe Ne'w House.
,3Iar. ŒE6, 1915.
The news which ),ou sent us on Wedncsdaï was to tne
the most terrib!e blow the War bas sent me. G¢orge was
absolutely, the most splendid character I know; such a
perfect honesty and directness in conversation, such a fresh
and genuine temperament, ruade him the companion one
would bave chosen for an), circumstances. I am tclling
ïou things },ou already know, but I can't help trying to put
him into words, in ever] sense of his loss and out great
sorrow. It was a great dal/in out life Eere when he joined
us at the New Housc. That was my happiest terre here.
His personalit]¢ lies stamped on ail the little institutions of
out life, and his naine is mentioned almost every rime we
sit down together. He was and is out d'Artagnan. As
I sa)" that, it strikes me what a long way that comparison
will go ....
I ara leaving to take a regular commission this terre. If
1 go out to Flanders, I hope I ma), catch some of his spirit
and shew one hundredth part of his courage.
Match was spent in doubts and questionings ; South-



Shrewsbury,  9  c- 9  r 3 9
well first decided» then White. Tlere wcre many character-
istic details towards tbe end. On his return from a
visit to the War Office, White--a loyer of  A. A. M.'--
telegraphed from Birmingham station: People Iere lire
extreme simplicity chietly upot products of farms.' One
night, too, foIIowing upon a long field-day spent in
colallaand of" his Company, he proposcd and carlicd in thc
School Debating Society a motion that ' The Classics aie
the invention of Dr. Kennedy', with its corollary that
ail archaeological remains were thc work of a tourist
agency. By a brilliant speech he matie his argument
plausible to almost the entire house.
At the end there was a reminiscence of the earlicst da)s
at Broadlands on an evening (described by one of the per-
formers 11 the following letter afterwards)when quartcts
were played in the Abbey Church :
'White is simply splendidhe fairly revelled in the
Tschaikowsky Trio. The last timc he played with us, the
string QEartets, Dvok in C fiat and Schumann in A,
were done in the Abbey hereand no concert room could
compete with that building. We filaished ttp at my bouse
with the Dohnnyi P. F. QEintet and the big posthumous
D mi. String QEartet of Schubert'sthe room was hot,
we played in shirt-sleeves» and the small audience sat
chiefly on the floor. We have r.othing now but the
recollection» but that is great.'

And so tl;ey left Shrewsbury, leaving a gap that was felt
by masters and boys alike. After White's death, one of
his friends at Shrewsbury wrote of him :
'Malcolm was quite by himself, the most lovabIe and
sympathctic and splendid ofmen, and he seemed to combine
so many of the good points one bas known in oter friends,



4o Shrewsbury 1 9 IO--I 9 I J"
in a wonderful way» which one feels would make it impos-
sible for anyone else to be to his friends what he bas been.
When I think that he ma}, be dead» it depresses me
dreadfully» for he was the one person to whom ont always
felt one could talk about important things that matter and
find a sympathetic hearer» just in the saine way as he was
the best possible of pcople with whom to cnjoy all the
trivial moments of lire."
And another said :--
' I think you know what he was to us--his music and
his turns, and behind all that his wonderful unselfishness
and idealism which seemed to grow every day» and always
seemed to me to acco,mt for his humility and nervousness
about whether he would do what was best.'
This is part ot  a letter written to White from Shrewsbury
during the Summer terre of 95 :--
' 1 miss ]Cou and the other Man very much this terre.
One misses all that sitting round in Phiz's room with
the other Man sitting deep in a chair» and altcrnating
between sleep and fits of exploding and unrestraincd laugh-
ter over his form or « the use of the globes '" or something
like that» and terrific arguments going on. I wish you
were both here. "Fhe other Man seems to be ver}, happy
with the  3th R.B. I had a letter from him this morning
enclosing one about the Bedford race. He has got an
amazing faculty o1: being tremendously engrossed in ont
thing at a rime»ma most enviable quality I think ; and he
writes as if he'd never done anything or likcd anything
better than bivouacking on Salisbury Plain. It is very
wonderful.'
And» aer Southwell's death» one of his brmer pupils
said in a letter :--
'Unfortunatelï I was never in his form but he took me



Shrewsbury, x 9  o- 9  " 4 x
for a terre in French and I can only say that thosc French
hours were the most delightful hours I havc evcr spcnt in
study. I liked them to such an extent that I oftcn uscd to
count the number of hours until the next one. 1 fear I ara
hot a loyer of books, and it was simply thc pcrsonality of
your son which ruade those hours so dclightful. I don't
think I have evcr got to like a master in so short a rime as
when I began to know your son. I think his pocms wcrc
very characteristic of him» and thc book ho a rranged," V. s",
is one of the geins of my bookcasc.'



CHAPTER II

E. H. L. S.

APRL TO OCTOBER I91"

l'r was an unkind stroke of luck that prev«nted thc two
Men ti'om joining the saine 13attalion. They ruade ef}brts
to do so, but there was not room. White had a trying
pcriod of waiting before he could find work ; but it was not
long before Southwell was gazetted. On April z+ hc joined
the i3th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade at Pcrham Down.
Thtre was one memorable week of Brigade training,
rccorded in his diary. Then» for more tl-an two months,
in thc course of which \Vhite and he were at Shrewsbury
togethcr for one week-end (July IO-Z), he was at work at
Windmill Hill Camp near Ludgershall. He was happyin
his work. One of his former pupils later an officcr in the
Riflc Brigade, says in a Ietter : « I suppose we can't drag
Mr. Southwell away from his military duties» which he
scems to love. I can just sec him strctching out his arm
quitc straight and stitT» palm of tl-e hand turncd upwards
fingcrs pointing up, so as to llatke a cup of his hand saying
« It's that» it's that. Very fine man"; or when some un-
happy private drops his rifle, « Oh not a good man. You
stand there with a taace like a plate of whoggy porridgc, likc
some great owl." '... A pleasant reminiscence of V. e.
On July 2. 9 his Division left for Franc% but he was kft
behind as  O.C. Details' since bis training had bccn



E. H. L.S. April tg- 43
shorter than that of thc otl:er officers in his Battalion. On
August t6 he was transferred to thc I th Btttalion at Eelhus
Park Purflcet ; and on Scptcmbcr 19 therc was a reunioe,
there of the Broadlands houscl:old for a few hours to which
White allud¢s in his letters. On September 2o Southwell
moved to South Camp, SeaIbrd ; but k,e was hot therc lbr
long for while on leave at Worcester on September 3o he
was ordered to the Front, and lcft on the following da)'.
These are extracts flore lais Icttcrs and diary, written
during this time :

LETTERS

To HIS FATHE. Shre.wskury.
March x 9  "
You will have read the news of Fletchet's deŒEth. I thhak
you will agree with me tbat the matter is now closed. 1
must go and take his place.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. ¢Vorcester.
4pril ar 9.
A most lovely map-carrying enginc arrived safely two
days ago (I've been half-imbedded with one of my monthly
chills)» with straps and harness and buckles and squares
ruled on it and the dear knows who Vil marry. Thank }'ou
ver), much indeed.

To J..F.C. Rcq^as. ço[lege14orcester.
lpril 2,-,  9  .
l knew the writing on your welcome letter at once ; and
you may imagine the delightful wonder with which» whilc
still in bed and half aslcep (in justice to myself I shall add
« and preparing to go for an appallingly hearty run before
breakfast "), I opened the Farcel that came with it. [t is



44 IL H. L.S. April I9t 
intended» you say for fun, and it rcally does succccd in
being most frightful fun : I am delighted with it : thank you
over so much. If I ever dinc in Magdalcn after thc War,
I shall spend half the evening (on second thoughts, no;
two-thirds: they feed you rather well there) eating and
thc test whipping out your ' kindness ' and saying Ç Ah,
yes ; the year of the War, you know, the year of the War :
a grcat friend : and the Magdalen arms too, ),ou sec ", over
and over again. I will indeed.

To R. A. Klox. l/I/Tndmill Hill CampmLudgershail.
lpril zg, *9*-
This is a letter I began quite three weeks ago and noyer
finishcd, about things for next terre.  I do hope you'll bc
happy there with my children : l've no doubt you will.

To C. A. ALINGTON. lIï»dmill Hill Camp.
'lay 9» 91 $"
We arc having a great rime herc" thcrc is as far as l
can sec nothing to complain of except dust» than which I
bave never seen any thicker in midsummcr. It rises in
almost solid clouds from a string of thirty or tbrty motor
lorries, such as one meets constantly ; while the smallest
party of infantry raise enough to make them very unpleasant
to follow. But one fcels especially whcn chokcd with dust
for the first tire% that one has really got into the summer
and that this kind of show is the only really delightful way
in which to mect it.
I bave a feeling that some of t'.e pocms in that book of
 A Winchester  notion '.
- P.. A. Knox succeeded him for rive terres as form-master
of V.



E. H. 1.. S. May 9" 4"

mine ought to be publishcd in proof of the proposition that
boys are hot Philistincs : do you think it a good idea ? 1
thought some of thc best oncs might bc strung up in a
volume of ¢ Poets of thc Fifth Form" or something of thc
kind. Thcrc is no reason why I should have anything to
do with it be¥ond suggcsting thc poems.
At prescnt I am in charge of a platoon in a very
attractive Company (hOt Sir Foster Cunliff's ; but the
obvious place for me, in the Coy. of one of our Governors,
was full already).

To C. R. L. FLF.TCHER. lk'indmill Hill--Ludgershall.
Arlay 9 I9"
This lettcr is onc you should have received long ago ; it
was bcgun at Shrcwsbury» and it is not tbrgetfulness on my
part that bas made it so slow. For though 1 suppos% no
one but myself and you (now) will ever know it» I quite
literally ncver entcrcd the New House, after tke news about
Gcorge arrived without thinking of him .... 1 doubt if
any handful of men in any English house ever had from
their friend a better lead than we .... I suppose it must be
some consolation» that unshakable conviction that people
like G«orge and Regic were hot really wasted. Thus when
I told my form of G«orgc's death and of his last feat, their
answer waswhat elsc would you have ?a loud burst of
clapping. Surcly hc would have bcen noless proud of this
tribute from babcs and sucklings» whom he had roused to a
t?enzy by his exampl% than of the French flag he risked his
life to save. And of mcn there is a countless number I
know» who thank God every daï that the road ahead bas
becn marked by so unforgettablc a sign.



46 E.H.L.S. June 191J
To T. E. B.R rLv.VT, t¢indmill H;II Camp--A»dooE'er.
une 3o I915"
One does begin to regard this place as « home" af-ter somc
wccks ; and I have got very definitely fond of the two
clumps of trees on the top of out  Windmill Hill', which
one sights from a distance on returning from a long match.
It is perfcctly gorgcous here ; evcrything is looking splen-
did ; the weck's billcting tour wc did in North Wilts a
fortnight ago was certainly one of the best I bave over had
anywhcre ; for when l, ou do run into a vallcy with a river
at the bottom of it in Wiltshire as I know of old» the
result is as good as anything I know; partly bccause the
Plain as a wholc is so dry.
There is no call yct, so I will risk another sheet. And
indeed I would hot let shcet No. 1 go by itself, talking
about my own doings al1 the rime and hot saying a word
of your very fine poem. Yes, I like it vcry much ; it is
most successfullï ' crcepy ", surely, and I think I could
bave named thc author if it had been unsigned: it is
charactcristic. I ara sending it away to put in a little
volume of loosc-shcet pocms where I kecp the  posthumous"
works of my poets.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. l¢/7»dmill Hill Camp.
.Ïgne IO» I9I ç.
The Man sent me from homc that June was with her
glancing grasses ;  to which l replied that thcy didn't really
know cxccpt in (two places l ,ow th[nk ; I said here only
bet'ore). One is the route we used to go with ail tbe Men
and Hôj  when we went to see the 'battalions" on a
' Walter Headlam's Poems i ' June."
 George Fletcher.There was a field near the Schools» where
we used to visit the  battalions ' of corn.



E H. L.S. June x 9 x J" 47

Sunday aftcrnoon. The othcr is thc fringe of Salisbury
Plain, whcre the ground comcs down with a shout, onc
almost fcels, to meet the watcr. For, as you no doubt know,
the Plain is likc South Africa in summer rather and thc
streams arc almost dricd up. Still we do keep a strip of
grcen in a vallcy one toile off with one inch exactly of brook
in the middle of it, which is enough to throw up thc colour
of the foot of the valley for a long way against the brown
grass all round. This morning we went and dug trenchcs
in it, which was rathcr a dcsecration and frightfully foolish,
for of coursc wc struck watcr two fcct down, and thc
digging was much barder than even our ordinary chalk
digging, and that is no joke. \Ve dug--welI, it's hot
a ver), intcresting game.
But the bivoua% oh Man» you would like that. Espc-
cially out last Brigade trip. We've had three now since l've
been here. The first was the Hungel'ford-Pewsej/trip on
which I eithcr did or did hOt expatiate at length to you but
at any rate I did to some Man or other. The next was
a wcek ago ; we marchcd about a dozen toiles and bivou-
acked in a glorious old park.
If you please, we did Right Flank Guard through a very
thick wood to hall tb, e Brigade on the road and having
been on protcctive duty b t, dag (and rather stiff at that) we
were let off again. So you can guess if we strolled round
that ficld pretty pleased with lire after a vast dinner
listening to the Brigade full-fed.
Since writing the above as Belloc would say !'ve been
to Marlborough, yesterday. The chapel was, I thought»
frightfully good» and Man, there were boys about. It was
perfectllr incredible ....
Yes» but I must shut up this show now. This is a very
wonderful place.



48 E.H.L.S. June  9  
To M. G. rHITF. H/'indmill Hill Camp.
une  z, I9I 5-
larllorougto. I went over there yesterday afternoon, and
there were boys thcre, l looked at them for ages ; the whole
thing seemed incredible, and I must be dreaming; but
there the), were, priccless. We lay about and watched a
cricket match, but I spent still more rime on that steep
bank nearest the Collegc with my back to the match,
watching the smaller people carcering about on bicycles
and shouting : that was very good. It looked ver}, beauti-
fui, the wholc place, and I liked the chapel andthe Master's
garden, and the whole visit was good.
Yes, Man, Uricon ' and June, and
Qict are clan and chier, and quiet
Centurion and signifer. 
Good Man.
Good Lord, no, l'm not eflqcient yet: but one can, I
think, teach oneself a ccrtain amount, as we gct a very fair
lot of rime after work's over. I have an idea the men
want less work now: Musketry Tests and that kind of
thing in the sun in the aftcrnoon, even for an hour or two,
make them very slack when they've quite probabl}, done a
long march and bivouacked the night before. Eut the men
are good, definitely : anti altogether it's a good business.
"Fo R. A. Kt4ox. l,t'Tndmill Hill Camp.
eune z7, 1915.
Dcar Super-Man,
VVell, I sent a rcply to }'ou in rather a wild rush:
unredeemed as far as I remember b}' the least touch of
cheerfulncss, but I hapFened to have been made rather
' A. E. Housman, _ Sbroiobire Lad t On Wenlock Edge.'
- John Masefield, Salr-ltzater Ballads ¢ On Malvern Hill.'



E. H. L.S. June 91- 49
particularly nosta]gic by a recent visit to Maflborough and
your documents on the top of it, and I can only say that
tle lines were as sincere as I could make them and did not
feel ' written to order" !
This statement of mine reads rather like that of the cook
in Vice Versa, all from my own point of view.
Give all the men my love, and Whitfield dall have a
letter, and V. B are very fine fellows, and so are K.'s Army,
only they're rather tired just now, and so ara hot I, for
keeping going is only very easy when you haven't left large
portions of you in other places! I believe that is rather
rot, and it would read just as well with the negative out !
It won't do, anyway, to consider the point.

To C. E. N. SVRRIDGE.  II/ïndmill Hill Camp.
Ju»e 30, Igx 5.
This is splendid of you : I was tremendously pleased to
see your handwriting the other day (too long ag% l'm
afraid you're thinking) when I came into the Mess. I had»
ofcourse, received a large batch of documents from
Mr. Knox, which I read very carefully ; but the worst o
it was that he demanded a reply  in the saine language.
This may be all very well, but my ideas have been rather
narrowed down to unskifful manoeuvres with my platoon ;
and the state of mind described in the song--  « What "s the
next word of cornmand ? '" said the Colonel" (and how l'm
to know» if he didn't» I can't think), is not very good for
sending messages in a foreign language. However» I
happened to be feeling rather particularly lonely that
evening, so I sat clown and scrawled a rather solitary little

* Formel'ly in V. 13. - Page 66.
-s E



)'o E.H.L.S. June
message, which at any rate I meant rather dreadfully in
earnest. I oly hope some of it scanned!
I see the poets are still going strong" Mr. Kno:¢ sent
me one of the 'works' of a new poet the otber day.
Crosfield's l¢vite Ha»se looks well in print, but I would
rather bave my own copy in the author's handwriting,
any day.
We bad our inspection by the King about a week ago ;
and it was rather impressive, naturally. About 5,ooo
men on a square mlle or two make a sight well wortb
seeing. Of course 1 thought of my poets when the cavalry,
with their distinctive (rather a good word, tbat ; it laoics
as if I could te]l any cavalry from infantry by tbeir dust,.
like the Boers!) and rather thrilling dust-cloud, came
swinging round the dorner, a toile or two away from our
position on the ]eR of the line. John Masefield, z I mean,
and the remarkable poems about' The Procession' they 2
wrote, and all that.
Well, you all seem to be going very strong there. 1
suppose you do ail exist really ; but sometimes I have to
thmk horribly hard, to believe it. As I told somebody the
other day, I believed it hard all one afternoon when I went
over to Marlborough ; but of course the letters which reach
me with the Shrewsbury post-mark, though I must say
people are awfully good to me and I greet their letters with
t«rrific delight, do sometimes seem to corne from another
world altogether !
Now then, we can't have this sort of thing. If I'm going
to get gloomy, I'd better shut up at once, and I will.
Thank you a thousand times for your splendid ferrer, and
pleas« do it again !

z 8alt_I¢,rater Ballads Cavalier.' 2 The Members of V. .



E. H. L.S. July 9*r r*
To R. F. BAILEY. Wi»dmill Hill Camp.
To-day has been rather fuu in alazyway. I took on the
Orderly Oce job for some one who wanted a Sunday off,
so I was stuck in camp, first boiling in the biggest heat
we've had, and then getting thoroughly wet ail of a sudden
while dismissing the Old Guard. It is rather good fun
after a har week» a week-end in camp» and l've put in all
of them up to date except one, when I tan oer to near
Salisbury once. Good place, that ; and I must try and ste
the town itself quictly one day.
I ara becoming rather like a cabbage here. Ont goes
on very happily, living a healthy animal existence, and the
importance attached fo one's food on bivouacs after a long
march is rather scandalous.
I could make a gd range-card of priceless memories on
this landscape tween lines N.W. and N.E. S.W. lies the
sweting match to Bulford Range, and S. is Perham Downs
Camp, which is all buts and therefore a beastly insult to
the country-side. But I cannot think of whzt I regard as
' My Section' of our prospect without a thriI1.
It is now Sunday aernoon, July 3rd ; not very good
therefore» for you should have had this before. Tell Kitch
I couldn't by any device reach Henley yesterday ; and I
don't even now know the result of the race.  For the first
time, and» I supFose » the only time I wanted one» no Sunday

paper is procurable.
To M. G. WIta-E.
Man,
EoEotional Indigestion.
Frightfu!ly tru% that.

14/'indmill Hill Camp.
a7uly z+,  9  5-
Ah yes, Man: statcment.
Yes, of course what you say about
• Against Eton.
E OE



-2 E.H.L.S. July I9I
poetry is in my experience too. Equally of course I refer
facts to poetry rather than the other way. This is obscure
and I will explain. Now R. L. S. in a lovely» lovely passage
(' Apology for ldlers ' in Virginibus p»erisque--you gave it me,
you remember) says : « Books are all very well in their way»
but they are a mighty bloodless substitute for Iife." Now
if I believe that» it is because I have seen it .in a book ;
and that I think is rather my attitude to pretty well
everything. So that so far from agreeing with R. L. S. I
seem more than ever in a position to contradict him. Man 7
that is rather where we do corne in 7 you know" I believe
that everybody 7 who has his little finger in this pie 7 really
is in a position to dictate to his favourite poets. Not
bad. No.

MANIFESTO
by -_nd Lieut. E. H. L. S.
Commdg. Details» 3th Bn. R.B.
l. Situation. It's all light--I happened to see two lines or
The Poet in a magazine» after  months.
OE. Stateme»t. When [ read Homer I gesticulate; over
VIRGIL I kneel.
E. H. L.S.
OEnd Lieut.

Copy No. x to Lt. \Vhitfield.
-to Lt. White.
» . 3 to Lt. Howson.



E.H.L.S. August xgxy Y3

To C. A. ALINGTON. Be]bus Park--Purfleet.
.4ug.' 18, I9I .
Out of the eight or so they had to pick one to wind up
camp, return tents» receive l:ospital-discharged men, finish
up accounts» and generall}' run a fatigue part}, to clean up
the place and pass an  exam.' by the Sanitary Inspcctor--
we did this with some success--and I was picked for the
job. So long as it hasn't thrown me back more than a
fortnight or so I shan't mind so much--though as you can
guess it wasn't exactly tunny to sce thc rail of the Division
disappear on thc da}, of embarkation, round the corner to
the station--because l've Icarnt more about the adminis-
tration of the Army in two weeks than in ail thc preceding
months. This is some consolation» and as a marrer of
fact I can't pretend in the least that I didn't rather enjo¥
the fortnight in which I was in sole command of about
twenty-five mena small handful» but an independent show.
The worst days I ever knew were belote that, when (after
being told within a month ofjoining and again later» that
I was going out) I just heard that it was ail what the Army
calls a  wash-out ", and so I'd got to stay behind.
There is still a great deal to do (I've just started learning
German--rather late, but l'm getting on), so I must wind
up this lengthy explanation ofmy very curious movements.
I suppose it is needless to repeat to you what I said in a
letter to Shrewsbury hot so long ago that I have for all
these months seen everytbi»g in terres of Shrewsbury. I
bave seen a bill» perhaps ; and I reflect that it would not do
for the folk around the Wrekin» even though it did bave a
Roman Camp at the top. Or a path from the bcd of the
Avon» up towards Sidbury, and I remember that the track

* The 13th Battalion Rifle Brigade left {or France on July z 9.



'4 E.H.L.S. August 95
trom the boat-bouse to the scl;oels bas a better curve upon
it and the feet of more aderable people.
Or I bave been with «B' Company on Church Parade every
Sunday for months» and the wrench was an almost physical
one with which I had to tear myself away fiom the belief
that I was in Chapel» and had been there every minute of
the service.
Or lastly, there was that last Sunday night of the terre.
¥ou wcre going, and my Battalion were going» in the same
week. I started for a rather lonely wa]k, thercfore, and the
farthcr I wcnt thc more the 37 th Division shouted. They
shouted for three hours pretty well each night for the last
week.
This time they just sang the simple refrain which
goes
Here we are ! here we are ! here we are again
Hullo ! Hullo ]
Hulo ! Hullo ! Hulloh-oh ] (Repeat.)
This song went forjust z½ hours without change : it wcnt
on louder and louder, like a plot to break the hearts of the
 stay-behinds'. It was about the rime when you would be
giving your final address» • probably all extra good one (I
was not disappointed: but how you could read the poem
through without a break I cannot imagine" I would not
trust myself with a rcitation of that beautiful thing in
public for a fortune per lineS.
So I went oI, not sorry on tl;e whole to be alon% and
blundered along towards the Artillery Camp, until finally)ou
came out of Chape], and I came back over the hill.

 « The Elm and the River': Fublished in Siorervsbury Fabies.



E. H. L.S. August I 9 I )" )" )"

To J. F. C. RICHARDS. 15th R.B.
Aug. I9» I9I 5.
Look her% l've only got rive minutes and your letter
was so splendid that I hardly know which part of it to be
most grateful for. I seize this moment as the only possible
chance l'll get for days, probably. But I mustn't omit to
say you shall have a photograph if I ever get one» and I
nust have one of you. And also J. M.'s ' Smoke-stack '
poem : try Mr. Whitfield with it. Yes I agree with you ;
it's priceless. Lutener's sociçty is a magnificent scheme ; *
one of the best things l've l.ead of.
This is a rotten lettel b probably the worst and the most
illegiHe of ail l've sent from tle R.B. ; and that's saying a
terrific big deal. You must forgive it» for the rush is rather
awful. One's got a terrible lot to learn, and hot long to
learn it in. You're a very fine correspondent indeed» and
a very excellent person» and I wish I could see you» and any-
way you must rite like the devil» if you will pardon the
expression. Not good : please make the necessary excuses
for me to yourself.

To Mts. WHITFIELD. Belhus Park.
.,,qug. -6 IgI 5.
I was very sorry to hear from Jack the news about his
brother « in Gallipoli. It seems tobe a standing order h
the R.B. that no officer's mess shall contain any writing-
paper when most needed except reams of the black-edged
variety ; but somehow I cannot bring myself to feel that a

 « Poetry and prose distributing agency»' started at Shrewsbury.
2 znd Lieut. G. H. Whitfield» I4th Sikhs  killed in Gallipoli
on August 8,  91 .



)-6 E.H. L S. September  9 )"
letter such as this, from the meanest of your son's brother-
oflïcers, should be written on that. If anything, I would
have it gilt-edged. I suppose when the War is over it will
be known better what extraordinary things that peninsula
bas seen done by those very brave men. Meanwhile, even
without knowing your son, I was more moved than I could
ever sa), by Jack's beautiful suggestion that he remembered
his School's motto. 1 Indeed we later comers have a terribly
high standard to follow.
To CANON WILSON. 8eptemker, 1917.
I heard from my father this morning the news which, I
suppose, is sure to bring you many letters from people far
more worthy to send them than l. And ),et somehow I
feel that being the most insignificant of his brother-officers
does give me the right to ask if" I may just add a short
message of sincerest sympathy. I don't know whether itis
very sentimental and toolish or not; perhaps itis, but I
never can rid myself» when I hear such news as that of
Hugh's death in action» of the strange desire, not only to
sympathise with those he leaves behind, but to get up and
cheer! Was it really ill-timed, I was asking only last
week-end, in my organist colleague at Shrewsbury to play
no less a thing, when Lord Roberts died, than the c Halle-
lujah Chorus ' ? Cerainly I feel myself that the thing was
rightly looked at then, and I bave never doubted it since.
Itis a terrible thing, and also a very glorious one, for later
comers to see the 'monumentum aere perennius' of their
friends' examples grow higher and more inimitable day
after day: one feels one would like to button-hole them,
where they watch their successors, and plead ' Don't forget
the standard is a little higher, since you went away '.
z « Deo dame dedi."



E. H. L.S. April  9  )" )" 7
To C. A. ALINGTON. 8outh Camp--Seaford.
Sept. z z,  9  .
Well, this camp is magnificent for everybody. The mcn
are all in buts, splendidly fed, waterproofed overhead (unlike
so many Battalions last winter)» near the _ea air and the
chance of a bathe, ncar a town which ought hot to be bad
for them if they behav% and best of ail near the Downs :
these I hailed with tremendous delight, for I had fer rather
stifled in the close country on the Essex flats after an
incredible summer on the Plain. Do you know Alfriston,
I wonder, its church and ' clergy bouse" and its inns ? We
walked there yesterday evening and fell much in love with it.

DIARY

THE FIRST PARADE.
2qpril z+, Saturday.
Ceremonial, as usual on Saturday morning. A fairly
easy job for the platoon commander» as he has practically
nothing to do. Indeed I wonder whether I gave a com-
mand per hour beyond an occasional 'Make Way' when
we turned about, dclivered probably in tb, e half-grutk half-
deprecating voice of the new subaltern. We did not carry
swords ; in fact, hardly any of us possess such things so
that even that was an ordeal saved, for we have no idea
yet of the salure with the sword. It resolved itself for me
into a kind of painless nightmare of shouting.
I pass on now to the ceremonial of the following Satur-
day ; for though it has no terrors, the keenest barrack-square
enthusiast would hardly think it a very thrilling subject on
which to stay for long. The main points of interest were
few and obvious. First, I suppose, cornes the realisation
which one gets, and which one would hardly believe till



y8 E.H.L.S. April I9I y
got in such a FeacefuI performance, that this sort of drill
is a tremendous test of tircd mon. At this date the men
were undoubtedly getting a bit stale, and I hope before we
go out they will get a good test: boasting little or no
knovledge of soldiering» 1 claire a little competence in the
art of recognising a tired man.
It is, however, ai1 very well to run dovn the men who
run these things» but there's a something about them ...,
as William Bent Pitman would say. I agree with A. C. P. M.
that the bugles immediately behind one (whcre I seldom
get them) are apt to be ratler tiresome, but they do l:elp
to pull a tired crowd togethcr .... ]XTo» I will hear
nothing against the bugles ; it is so easy to read them in
terres of Simonides !

P¢.RHaM. S;mday» .,4pril z . 5 a.m.
They do hot tell you things in the Army. This I had
(hot from the prince of Pheneon under the seven towers»
nor even the tribesman of Vectis» as W. A. F. B.' said in
his poem on ' Rome') from Milo M. Cudmor% the gallant
artillery soldier» a month before joining, and from many
other sources. This was my first real proofofit.
Bulford Ranges. The days we spent here were rather
ordinary ; a certain amount of monotony was inevitable,
but no one couId pretend we had a hard rime. Later we
became rather mcchanical alzout the whole thing : but the
morning marches» in the early days of the dust, when its
taste meant summer and the months had hOt tired any one
of it  the various ways by which we went in and out among
the slopes of Windmill» Pickpit, and Clarendon Hills (I
don't think the problem was ever proved to be solv¢d);
the halt under the trees past Tidworth, up the hill and
before the farm- these are t.hings I just find it worth while
 Formerly a member of V.



E H. L.S. lay xg)" )'9
remembering. Otherwise as I say we were machines
either marking in the Butts or hanging about waiting to
fie our courses.
It was not really amusing, though 1 used to get very angry
at the thought arising in anybody's head that we had struck
the hard lire yet! So I will hOt, I think, write of it any
more.

A BRIGADE TRAINING WEEK.
,lay 1 o-I ç.
I look back on the middle of this wcek as one of the
happiest I bave ever known. And I think it is only rimes
like that one that a diary should be allowed to recall so
I must not let that week go.
_Monday therefore. Parade at g.3o, Field Service Order.
It rained all day and we marched in Burberry outside
uniform and pack outside that. I found the pack very
comfortabl% rather surprisingly so, Not much of that
march sticks in my memory except the valley of 8halbourne
which I was sure would on a fine day be perfectly lovely
and rather definitely vowed to visit later. It lies on the
right of the N. toad to Hungerford rather as the hollow
below the Castle at Edinburgh bllows Prince's Street (though
why the two should be compared is past wondering !).
We got in about 5, and after some delay found our
billets.  C ' were in a barn and got drenchd to the skin.
* B ' were in a schoolm The Ebenezer' it was called  a sort
ofchapel-school building on the R. of a road L. from main
street going clown. I very luckily got for myselfa gloriously
comfortable room--double four-poster bed and all in a
little pub. (it was no more) opposite the rtst ofthe Company.
Their feding was rather troublesome» for they had to trek
off to the hotel for their meals. But I think they slept
more or les» comfortably ; at least they were dry.



6o E.H.L.S. May
Tuesda),. This day was a blank .... The afternoon
being blank again the men were allowed to stroll
about, though I ara glad to think some of my men got
a little sleep, as I recommended. As for me, I ruade
myself scandalously fresh for the night's march by going
straight to bed and sleeping for two hours. Following
that came a strolI with Fraser, and this was one of the
great scenes.
Hungerforcl Church is right on the edge of the Kennet
and Avon Canal ; and its perpendicular towcr rising over
the green with the water beyond, and west of that the set-
ting sun, and an old lock or two farther on E., and finally
the bridge, ruade pictures which I could hardly leave.
This was one scene and yet it was tobe eqmlled again
and again &fore the \VonderfuI \çeek was over.
 . . The Night 3larch. The R.B. was to go on ahead and
' B' Coy. to piquet the village of Froxfield. This we made
rather a mess of and I leave it. \Ve then proceeded to
match rather wearily for some miles mainly uph]ll towards
Savernake Forest. We did hot go through much of it,
and there followed an attack through the Forest, which
I would hot put down at all (obeying my own rule)if
the miserable futility of that one hour was hot rather
amusing when seen through the glorious haze of the
following forty-eight hours.
\Ve formed close column of platoons, I remember and
blundered along through the wood at about 3-% v«h«n it was
dark ; and finally, after hearing various shots put round us
with great equanirnity» we were l-alted and lay doevn ill
frost-covered opening while the dawn came. After a long
time we moved off, and it was nct, I think, until this point
that I began to feeI intolerably well and hearty.
came quickly through the rest of the wood, and only then



E. H. L.S. May i9i )- 6I
I realised, looking under tl:e trees across the harebclls
that Oberon had been there ail night.
Vilcot Vicarage. This was where I was billeted. All
this period round me with nothing but a tremendous sense
of relief, partly at the end ofthe march and partly at hearing
I was wcll billeted, no doubt. And so I was feeling very
well all the time. Then the food for thc men vas very late
in arriving ; and in fact this foo2 question spoilt the week
rather for the men 1 fear. I procured a few biscuits for
some of my men, which was all I could find in the village
at the rime, and those few of thcm seemcd grateful ; but
it was rather maddcning to fecl that nothing could be done
for the men for so long while my own future existence for
twenty-four hours (as we then thought) was so scandalously
assured ofcomfort. Finally, after lying about in the meadow
beyond the farm tbr some rime with some of the men all
of us being by now rather clmer I cleared off to my
Vicarage and had a large breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Hoyland
were extraordinoErily good to us--Mackworth Bamford»
and mewthe whole rime. The morning was naturally
blank but I shall not easily forger the sudden transition
from the long march to the garden behind the Vicarag%
where we lay about undcr the hedge and Iooked sleepily
over the long s low water-meadows and watched the con-
soling Eng!ish mist wrapping itself round the English trees.
No soldiering ever troubled the serenity ofthat little land-
scape, nor the old church tower behind ; for the whole of
that valley has just accepted very quietly the memory of the
men who died for it in year after year before we ever saw
it, and every one, I felt was another perfectly present, and
therefore entirely hidden and unsuspected guarantee of that
incredible reace.
It is so hard to choose one's pictures ; I have written



62 E.H.L.S. May I9I )"
ten pages already in this hour which is half a dozen too
many at least. Anyhow I nust omit our Outpost Scheme
for Officers in the afternoon, where we went and planted
imaginary piquets a]ong tbe canal for toiles, and wherc I
enlarged a map of our little section of the bridge.
Tea in the Vicarage garden, and then a vast letter to
Maurice Brown, followed by a mild ecclesiastical talk with
the Vicar. Ail this was good, and so was the evening ....
So next day we said good-bye effusively on leaving for our
rearguard action towards Manningford Bruce. And then
came another great moment ; when we had been gone an
hour we heard that we should hot bivouac that night but
retur» to illets .... I suppose there have been more de-
lighted men than we three for the following minutes ; but
I should ]ike to have met them. The rearguard action that
day was followed by a discourse from the Brigadier, and in
the calm of the Vicar's study--we returned to his arms in
the garden almost with a shout ofdelight--[ noted various
lessons we were told to ponder. Nothing shall induce me
to rewrite them here. But the  Wood Bridge' over tFe
Avon, which flies past as usual, waving its reeds like tongues
of tire, was defended by No. 7 platoon with remarkab2e
placidity ; and it would be rash to forger the hour or so
which we spent there.
It was during this evening that I walked part of the way
with Leggatt towards his (D) billets at Sharlcott, and so
back over the fields: and it was there that I went with
opening eyes down an English lane ....
The next day was what Belloc would call « A day without
salta trudge'. The attack done between Pewsey and
Ludgershall did hot find us in the fight at all, and we did hot
g¢t instruction on it with maps as I should lave liked (and
boped for daily, on such occasions); but none of us will



E. H. L.S. May 191 )- 6 3

soon forget the trudgc up tLe big Pewsey hill : how the men
did growl ! The wbo]e day was very hot» and the bugles
finished us off by bringing us one toile into camp full tilt
from the Collingbourne Road.
But itis not of these happenings that I want to writ%
only my pen is so cursedly obstinate. Itis of those few
memories that I want remindingmthe Savernake wood
country at dawn» the stars over the night march» the water
of the Avon, the church by the canal, the rive minutes in
the lan% the dear Vicar and out return to his home, the
bugles as we entered Pewsey from Wilcot on the last
morning, the morning in the « Ebenezer' school,--\Vilcot
above all» above all Wilcot: those are the things which
mark the Wonderful Week» and which in any future
inconveniences (such as I must be excused for expecting)
I hope and pray for courage to remember.

AN EVENING IN EaRLY MAY.
This evening I strolled into the church at Ludgershall,
the little church that lies over the way from my first billet»
beyond the railway bridge. On entering I was immediately
confronted with a coat of arms on the north wall. I take
no omens whatever in this little business» which is perhaps
curious. So it was only with a certain rather numbed calm-
ness that I read its Motto,
 _Moriendo livo "»
and turned round saying to myself»  That no doubt will
do very well' : and then opposite me on the souh wall from
another coa came ou the promise,
 Resurgam ".
« And hat too ' I said»  will suit me admirably.'



64 E.H.L.S. May 9Y

SIDBURY CAMP.
Thursday evening, 2lay z 7.
It was a rather easy day, and therefore it was that I took
it upon myself to walk and run to the top of Sidbury Hill.
Itis not easy to pass the smallest bridge» I think, in any
country ; but I resisted the temptation to stay on the little
bridge over the Bourne, with the whitest may-blossom in all
England at its side, and two long strips of the deepest green
along its banks, the envy of the brown thirsty Plain for
toiles arou nd ....
Well, I might have known they would have been there.
Of course they had struggled to the top,
The Roman line, the Roman order,
of »vhom John Masefield sang on Malvern Hill. From no-
where else would they sooner catch sight of my ancestors
panting in skins and strange dyes across the plain ; and
here ifanywhere they seem to bave decided to do the thing
well. For the ditch (it is theirs, I suppose) is very deep and
regular, and I for one was glad I had hot to attack over it.
But I was not really thinking war that evening, for my head
was full of mcmories of the Shropshire hills, and of
those other Romans who with all their troubles
Are ashes under Uricon.
And so with reverence upon my head I clambered down
into the lowest part of the fosse, and reminding myself
' This is a marrer which demands a "certain pr¢cision" '»
I straightened my cap, put on my gloves, and tbund from
the sun a line as nearly S.E. as I could make it ; and so
facing Italy, our new ally, and standing strictly at attention»
I saluted the Roman Soldier.



E. H. L. S.
"0. C. Detaiis." Salisbury Plain
August,



E. H. L.S. May 191)."
ANY CHURCH PARADE.
(As seen by me between Apr. -3 and June -7 the first
Sunday bar two inoculation days when I was absent.)
 The Batt. will parade for Divine Service to-morrow
at 9.3 ° a.m. South of the lines ofthe xoth R. Fus.
Markers will be on the ground at 9-+5 a.m. and should
know about what frontage the Batt. will take up."
The chants were foolishly changed for unknown ones»
once ; but otherwise we bave stuck to the saine chants.
Here of course every man must have his own great
memories- I can do no morc than jot down a fw of mine.
V«nte.    -
I hum it) w ï/  _ L(sic)
a leap from the tenor part which for some reason gives me
great satisfaction in the early verses.
The Benedictus has less appeal anyhow but I may as well
remember its chant:
%
* Here» E  I would hum : it is a smple pleasure

SoMv. LAa'rN VF.rsEs.
The little poem which follows was sent to V. B through
R. A. K. June .3rd. He had got them ail to send me a
Latin letter and invited a reply. I little guessed that within
lSS F



6 E.H.L.S. June  9  "
a fortnight I should be standing actually before them once
more and reading on that Sunday açternoon with intoler-
able audacity surely some of these notes from my diary.
About the versification it is not for me to guess but God
knows those lines were written «0» am0re.
And they went as I should say to them were I reading
them out» like this :
Seu per amica traham Gallorum gramina cursum
Sive agar optatos visere Dardanidas
Non procul omnis ero: semper vos inter» amici
Consita mens miro ducet amore moras.
Vera loquor: nec me ulla premunt iastidia Martis
Sed caret a»pectu mens domus alm% tuo!
Cure» pueri via dat nobis nocturna laborem
Vestra tenet--memini--quam procul astra sopor!
Me licet hortentur comitum tria milia cantu
Cure cadit in carmen pulverulenta dies
At procul est £acies--di! quam dilectameorum»
Solus et in tenebris» ei mihi» solus eo.
Dabam in castris apud Ventosae Mulae Collera» Et Supra»
A.D. XI. Kal. Iul. A. U. C. MMDCLXVIII.

une zg 191 . Tuesday morning 8.3 o-  I. I ç.
To-day is a holiday for us and several others in  B' Coy.»
by intimation of De Laesso% while various odd jobs are
being done ; but I must hOt go right away.
So I take the glorious opportunity to go for a solitary
walk and think over the memories of my Bapton week-end.
Up the crunching, gravel and chalk therefore, right on the
back of the swooping road to ColIingbourne Ducis  in



E. H. L.S. June IgI )- 67
bounds' again to-day (aftcr a short attack of measles or
somcthing), obviously for my most particu!ar consolation.
First to thc rigbt at thc cross-roads, to tbe Hungcrford
Road : a direct inspiration in itself surcly, for it is the road
to the Wond.erfid 'Week, and rccalls tbe first Day of the
Pack. But I stop on the railway bridge, for that line goes
off; round thc corner to thc right» to Marlborough and
another memory. A mystcrious enginc is puffing up the
line round the corner, as they uscd to whcn I watched thcir
dreadfully enchanting advancc from Warminster to thc
Bapton lcvel crossing. Ah, thcre over my left shouldcr
cornes the Ioth R.F» with full band. Ail's wcll ; thcy arc
going straight down to Collingbourne .... Thcy have
stopped playing now, precisely at the fourth telegraph post
from the cross-roads; but their voices corne up the hill;
they are good men, the i oth .... So I go on up thc
hill. Here is the top; and I wish I could go on along it
tbr miles but this is not Sh:opshire» and thc road dips to
the right as fast as it climbed. To my left front four two-
horsc plougbs cross and recross the field ; again this is hot
Shropshire, for they thread the valley instead of marking
the skyline. The rain has washed the country into green
and white and gold ; it has rained slightly for three days,
for the first time since May t tth, and the piles of thick
dust are quiet at last: I had thought the thing impos-
sible .... ' Rcmember now,' I round myself now singing 
I do not precisely know why ....
But I have reached the bottom of the va!lcy now, and
turned to the left down the road to N. Collingbourne
Ducis; and I bave bcen hcre beforc. For it was here that
I came weeks ago, one great evening when I eut my dinner
to walk ri-oto Co!lingbournc Wood to C. Ducis, when I
had lain on the eastern edge of the vallcy and looked up
F 



68 E.H.L.S. June , , 
towards N.W. and the Shropshire hilIs. That was also
taï first entrï into C. D. church where I hung for long,
buried deep with it behind the chestnuts ....
Voices from the bouses at the edge of the village, fift),
yards away at thc bend in the road. Just here I smelt wet
ha)'» and like thc clder blossom be),ond the bill it sent me
tbr a moment back to Lichfield. So I passed down the
village from the N. and into the church gain. There
are no scrvices on week-days here» for I ruade a scandalous
inquir)' in the registr), in the vestrï. But I sta)'cd there a
long time .... This was what I bave wanted for weeks,
« An ,our for peace and for forgetting "» and I round it.
I do not remember anything quite so definite since the days
of Lichfield Chapcl," when I was hardl)' less old at x t than
I ara now. Of course I took the Notre-Dame Seat, half-
way up on the right and against a pillar; but hardlï in
Paris» I think» was it that so greatly
The deep peace burned by me alive.
It was St. Peter's Da)r» b)' the wa)'» and the lessons were» to
say the leas% not insignificant.
Vell» « out of the little chapel I burst "» as the)' sa),, and
found it raining steadily but almost invisiblï. Sidbur),
Camp through a Scotch mist was really rather more fun
that I had bargained for; so I have seen Holïrood Palace,
almost completely hidden in August at a few hundred )'ards.
And so home» and this walk has been a great cure for
anything like depression» which I was faintly beginning to
feel before I went away on Friday. Now I ara» I believe,
completelï recovered.
But not a word of Bapton Manor;" and that was what I

' The Chapel of the Theological College (his former home).
-" His mother's home.



E. H. L.S. July 9 "

69

had it in mind to set down, whcn I sprang up the chalk
and flint of the early journey, driven and drawn along its
veins by the inconceivable power of the long, throbbing
Plain.

yuly 3, 9ç •
Like to some niggard drowsy cupbcarer
Slighting a wither'd queen in Babylon,
Some proud, lost love of Asia, lonelier
Than his lone lord, she falsely lean'd upon:
And oh! her cheek is hollow, and her eyes
Watch him, yet hope no favour from his turning :--
So Death, appriz'd of our young treacheries,
Shall hold his glass from old lips palely burning.
Then let me tastc in rime his golden stream,
Not id]y traffic with lean years to be;
And out beyond the banquet, I shall sec
Where led my chosen journey, and my star's gleam,
And know, who set no limit to my dream,
No House of Doubt in my Astrology.

TuE HUNGERFORD ROADCoLLINGBOURNE Ducis ROUND»
AGAIN.
This bas become m), most usual haunt ; and in many
many journe),s I bave corne fo perceive a ccrtain g]orious
sureness about this scenc.
I bave seen that road or the right edge of" it rather f"fore
the top o Windmi]l Hill at 7. o in the mornin» when I
have been up there to look at the Plain before a long da), 
and I bave noticed the cudous diièÆeaces of light on a road
at dii%rent hors. Ara I wrong or is the white road on[),
white when you stand bctween it and the sun ?
Then thcrc was that long da), of rain» when the Brigade



7o E.H.L.S. .[uly 1 9 1 j"
Sports were ruined, and when I had been rather f.dthfully
reprimanded at Orderl)' Room in the morning. It was
quite worth while going m)" round, that evening, all alone
in the downpour and a leaking Burbeiry. Qite worth
while clambering up that slope, though for somc reason
I was so occupied with cacophonous encores of
Who so besct him round
(we had it at Shrewsbury the previous Sunday)that t-or a
toile or so I hardly realised where I was. Then suddenly
l became aware of the top of the bill, and began to make
phrases, as I watched it in the wind, about the sheepish,
irrcsolute demeanour of the stripling corn. It was on that
evening, too, that I got into tlae hollow to the east of C. D.
and excited myself to a great state of dclight by loud and
much-varied dec!amations of John Masefield's ' Sea-Fever'
(' I must down ').
I suppose it was two days later that I discovered the
dingle which leads through the corn to C. D. from the hill, a
shorter and equally delightful way ; marked, and I think
wrote to Ross about the blue flints on the black plougb,
like cut glass on a marble tablethey are to be seen on the
right as you descend that lane  saw the wind playing at
bill-country with tl:e grass at the top of the roadit is
only in real hill-country that the short grass pulls like a
dog on a leash; and finally, after watching the moon rail
like a rocker behind Windmill Hill, s!ept gloriously out-
side my tent under the stars.

MoRE oF  MY SUND&Y AT HOME '.
It is II.0 on a boiling July Sundaï morning, and |
am Orderly Oflcer. The view orme, dutics I take at this
moment Icads me to plant a chair just outside the Mess
Tent, facing north-west, and to take in a little oç my sur-



E. H. L.S. July 1 9 1 - 7 !
roundings. A good chance : everything is standing still for
my admiration. Thc horses of the ioth R.F. arc motion-
less as usual on the side of the hill ; they hardly flick
their tails» those lean woodert Sabbatarians. Nobody
troubles his head now about the dreary bayonet-gibbets on
thc left skyline near the wood» nor about the rather silly-
looking wire entanglcments to their right. Except perhaps
the sentry over what I keep calling the Watcr-Tower :x I
dare say he holds strong vicws on other men's Sundays  at
any rate the flash of his bayonet this morning (during thc
 Benedictus'» I remember)» when he turned his corner»
looked as if he had decided to tolerate no competition.
Not much movement in our lines» nor from the oth and
* 3 th facing me ; and I expect the 6oth are equally sleepy in
the hollow. An occasional car strolls over the green ; and
as 1 write some casy crickters saunter out to their gara,'.
On the near brow of the hill across the road a few sheep
proclaim the Downs ; to tleir right is the Everley Road» so
easy of marching; and I can just see the cross-roads» wlere
the 1'4. Road runs up towards Collingbourne» shaking
our little worries off its heels ....
And so the rime passes» until I go my rounds in hall an
hour. A lazy transport wagon rolls by ; a dazed-looking
passenger, train puits up the line; the green flags wave
sleepily in the cooling breeze wl-ich is just arriving from the
South ; the great s!opes ahead of me call  N. \Vest» N.
West' through the blue ç and all around me rises the slow
incense of tl'e Downs» to remind me with a choke in the
throat of the stillness that is only a few toiles away on two
sides at the very foot of the adorable vale.
(Read to V.B. on my "week-end :istt to Shre'wsbury» Sunday,
uly  th ; "with a change in the Iast t'wo lines.)
' A reminiscence of Shrewsbury.



72 E.H.L.S. July
We have just corne back from what is almost certainly the
last Church Parade in England ofthe i i ith Brigade. Thcre
was a Celebration this morning, in the big C. E. tcnt for
the first time» at which I date say sixt)' attended. The
week belote in the little tent there were six. The
service was hot quite the best, as we had hOt the brass band
of the  oth but only their fifes ; and these, besidcs sounding
a little shrill and unstately played Far too slowly.
However there we stood, singing the saine chants,
making what we could of « Onward Christian So/diers ' and
« Fight the good Fight" and ç Praise to the Holiest ". It
was hot well done, but it did hot really matter. I had only
to look round and the Plain at an), rate was in Sunday
mood. All as before ; the old hill, and the Water-Tower
and the still sentry watching over it ; over the l oth's tents
hung the memoryof the 1Xlorthern Val% and to the south-east
the grey summer over Kimpton andCholderton ; and to our
left the great white clouds came tramping up like all the
armies of heaven in palpable dust, swooping up with a crï
of triumph» over our old familiar hill from the little, loved
western river.

THE LST SrdNIa" oF TEI.
It was about 9-% or a little sooner that I started out
for a lonely walk to the bill on the Hungerford Road. It
would be about the time of C. A. A.'s final address in Chapcl
and I thought it would be very probably an unusually good
olxe. And when I saw it in The Salopian, as I wrote to him
later, I was hOt disappointed.
They would be nearly at its beginning when l turncd
back and made across the open field to the foot of Sidbury
and the slow, sad camp-songs of our galloping artillery;



E. H. L.S. July Ig,g 73
and 1 sat thcre with them to liste% and thc hills and thc
songs faded quite away. Therc werc some scorcs of cyes
that were none too dry in that Chapcl» and 1 rcmembercd
that they must not be stared at while thcy came down thc
aisle. And yet there would not be much rcal unhappincss
there ; for there is a kind ofsadness that rcaches highcr than
joy. So we listened» ail together» until finally thc thing
was finished and we rose; and as 1 said in my lcttcr to
C. A. A» at last • you came out of Chapcl» and I came back
over the hill '.
Well» I will not pretend I returned in what thc scntries
call a very • riflemanlike manner'. And yct 1 do not know.
I am rcady to believe tha between thc hours of • Rousc'
and  Rctrcat" a man should be about his business and hot
twitch so much as the corner of his mouth, for all his longing.
Bu I think ifever there cornes a timc whcn a British oflïcer
may be allowed to be a little more thoughtful than usual» a
littlc dimmer of cye» it is on such  night as this ; a nigh%
in two ofhis soul's homes, of sad endings and glorious begin-
nings very long after  Last Post ", whcn the day's loncly,
lonely play-acting is over.

THE LAST NIGHT OF THE],VI'TALION IN ElqGLANDo
w«a,«a,., y»& ._8.
The 37th Division had shouted itself hoarse for days and
wasnot going to stop now. The xoth R.F. seemed especially
hearty» but all did well, as the saying is. And let no man
date to sa}, he knows of what songs t.he British soldier is
really tired. In ordinary moments he will give you ' tterc
we are again ! ' • Who were you with last night ?' • The old
garden wall ", and lately the almost national ' Kccp thc
• ' Whcn this bloody war is over , and
home-rires burning ,



74 I. H. L.S. july
the test. Indced we had th¢m all to-night from regiment
affer regiment on the Plain. But, as I said bcfore [ hold it
truth that in this war tLe British so!dier, ,w.t» really
will surel), gie you
• ' Tipperar), '.
\Vcll, naturall), I paid a visit to tl»e uardian bill of the
Division undcr a mav«llous moon. Some strange, watch-
f'ul p]an«t stood over us to the east of tl-e moon, and
Cassiopeiasurely the lad), was on ber knees! Ah well,
e'e if one lives very far up thcrc among the ever]asting
stars, onc dt»es not st.c a siht like this ever), night" one
does hot indecd.
Thc tumult ad the shouting were dead when
rcac,ed the top, and te silence was extraordinar), wbi]e
I stood, disbelieving the possibi]it), ofthat moon-landscape,
like str¢aks o a madma's canvs, or renewing old friend-
ships among the obcurer stars. All in fact was silet
sax'c one dog, wlo, I swcar, barked from Hougoumont
Farm, over a toile away, and was plainl), audible. Magic
rires climbed tbe darkncss in tb.e hollow the white
terts Foited upwards like trie soul of all Arabia ; and
so I stood, first towards Shrewsbur),, the towads tl:e
outgoig Divisions, like some bewilder¢d prophet whom
a curiously doubtfu]ly-minded parent bas tempor.ril), dis-
inherite. So I stood o tle lill ; and fter that I came
back to my own» throush deep fanes in the tcnts which
might have been cloven by the hoofs ofa Titan. [t is ver),
cold, and I think my feelings .e a little numbed with work"
but I shoE]l be alone to-morow and after, and when my
rushed period is over I shall know that the Batta]ion is gone,
and that I ara left alone with th¢ir memory and nothing
but thc will to say  God bless them ".



E.H.L.S. August [9[' 7y

"Ve have had two or three (I almost forget which) strenu-
ous days. One thing is impressed on me which I shall
never, on evacuating any otLer camp, be likely to forget ; and
that is that thc whole Battalion must be turned on to fatigue
dut}" just before going. An hour's hard work with ,ooo
men--I can hardly imagine the glory ofit without emotion !
Why, they would have left the whole place as ckan as
a board. As it is, I should ne'¢r have got through without
help.
Well» but 1 ara going tco fast, for I forgot to mention
my flying visit to the station on Tl:ursday, which was ail
1 had rime tbr. The first halt B & C wcnt off from hcre
at 6.zo; rather typically early, for the train did hOt go
till 8.zo. I, exp,cting to be back by 7.0, marched with
Barnford at the head of No. 8 and saw thcm into thc train ;
but tl:ough I stayed lng ¢nough to shake them ail by thc
hand, I could hot wait to see them ofF.
Vhen I did get back I round D & A just ready to march
off to the station. The Division was still shouting, as it
had done for a wcck ; and the colossal enthusiasm ail round
was ïather in strong contrast to the mechanical, dumb con-
tent into which, after a few hours of really hard labour,
I soon found myself dropping. For near]y forty-eight lours
I hardly realiscd that [ was going to be Icft almost alone with
the Plain, while my Battalion were whir/ed away to Flanders.
Indeed, till this rr.orning I have hardly remembered that
there is a war over the water : for I have seen no papcr til
to-day since Wednesday ; and 1 now find that Warsaw is
about to rail .... There is food br tl:ought in that ....
Somc of the small incidents that followed I described
in a letter to Bamford covering the razors for No. 8 platoon.



;6 E.H.L.S. August xgxy
We were a happi, part t' in our way» I said, though horribly
]oneli,; and I mu.st not forget to repeat solcmnly here what
I said about the value ofa good N.C.O. ; it is only in cases
like this that one really learns what he is worth, in England.
(lLater.) I rummaged out of a tent The English Re..'iew
with F. Harrison's article on translating Virgil (of which
more, shortly) and read some of it outside.

In the matter of Virgil. This is not the place to remind
myself of what I think of him; though 1 did send a
manifesto to M. G. W., J. O. W., H. E. E. H. that 1 read
Homcr with gesticulation» whilc over Virgil I kneel. Ail I
want now is just to write down the two adorable lines that
sang through the misty sunrise on that summer morning.
Sec thc  lonely word '... !
Quisque suos patimur Manes" cxindc per amplum
Mi'ttimur Elysium, et pauci laeta arva tenemus...
Thank you- 1 can carry on now very well with A. F.
913 •

Sunday, l«gust I .
« God hummed a tune and made the Wiltshire Downs,'
as I thought on that day when I walked to C. D. to break-
thst. To-day I went to the 8.30 Celebration at Ludgers-
hall» and Iater to C. D. at i i. This was my last visit to
that village .... The harvest, then, was nearly reaped, but
' hot ail '» I rcflected»

'Not all is reap'd, and they wait awhile
Thc Reaper's coming with patient smile';
I watched their myriad orde G and knew
That sigh to the Plain where their brothers grew.
' Eodcm cogimur, dears," I said ;
And they so tcnderly bowed their head



E. H. L.S. August  9  "

77

That I checred them and waved, with my heart a-breaking
To ste such a gallant show a-making.
And they waved me back, with their long necks swaying,
'Twas easy to read what they'ld be saying:
« XVe're happy enough,' they ruade repli, ,
 Too happy'and so by God ara I!

*Tn R.B.; BELHUS PARK, PURFLEET.
Thut'$day, a*lug. I9. (*Irrlved I6th.)
I hardly know how to write of this camp yet, for I do
hot seem to have arrived here quite completely. As usual,
I have left a large--lieber Gott, how large !repart of myself
behind upon the Plain. Time is probably short; and that
is why I have not the time to linger and dream over that
adorable country. But 1 will give myselfjust rive minutes
very occasionally ; and those will be the times when I will
remember the two home-signais of the tree clumps on
"Vindmill Hill: and the finest and first and most alive
Downs-Road in ail thc world which leads from its foot ;
and the Very British Village to which that dear road flies ;
and the Very Roman Guard that is kept at the top of
Sidbury; and the little church spire of Chute, little known
and never visited though there was that supper in the house
of te old lady, of \Viltshire, one night very late in my
stay ; and the night of bivouac at Fenner's Firs; and IJ/Tlcot
but I should be a fool to trcspass on that sacred ground ;
and Ludgershall Church and village, and my first billet
there ; and Salisbury Close, peaceful beyond ail bearing;
and Church Parade under Out Hill; and for love of that
country I will even include 13ulford Ranges (though I
cannot go so far as Perham Down, its buts and its trenches) ;
and te most glorious College of Marlborough must find
a memory ; and the Andover Road, which round me so



78 E.H.L.S. August  9  f
strong (!) amidst the 'fall-outs' though so powerless to
help them ; and the slopcs that used to call m% day after
day I well knew where 1 well know where ; and my own,
my very own Details whom I se% thank God with a wist-
ful and most worshipping affection day by day, the remnants
ofthe I3th , ah yes] thc I3tt: R.B. iii a vcry strange land.

THE OLD HIP AT IURFLEET.
It was from the top of the dyke that I saw hcr that long
high'dyke which marks the Essex marshes, Immediately
bclow me the ride seemed on the cbb; and that was why
I knew after a glance at the anglcs of the river that the
real ride was flooding in far out in mid-stream.
Clough would have had some pretty things to say about
that ; but I had other business on hand. It was not those
half-dozen fishing boats that caught my eye» though they
looked happy enough as they drifted in with the tide too
sleepy to care whether the wind would help them along.
iNTor the strange dark promise of the great city proclaimed
by the clustering chimneys a little further to the north-
west. Nor did I linger very long over the prospect of the
other bank; though I dil hot forget that Wrotham and
Sheerness» • with their mcmories of two remarkable men
lay only a few mlles from where I stood lonely and dream-
ing as usual an object of some suspicion to the sentry
farther a!ong the dyke.
It was the old ship fo my left that ruade me stand still
and remember my country  for every mast and yard upon
ber seemed an unforgetful signal to ail who fought under ber
cnsign. I do llOt know her name  it is probable that even
x He had stayed at Wrotham in Oxford days with C. R.
Cdmore. White at this time was at Sheerness.
!



E. H. L.S. September  91 -

79

the ancient mariners, who of a certainty were not far from
ber that evening, are too busy in this glorious time of
trouble to remember for ver), long what strange harbours
they visited on board her, or what famous days are entered
in ber log.
But I liked the way she stood motionless beside the
drifting craft out there in the river. I left it to the poet to
imagine ber
Qeen of the strange shipping,
for that was not how ber image came to me. As for me,
I thought of some old, old servant whose years were many
and her faithfulness unshakable. And there» I think» she
watched with an indulgent smile the young seagods, the
children of her ancient lords as they came crowding in all
together» chin high on the homing tide, very dear and very
eager, to sec the Port of London.

ALFRSTON. Sunday» Sept. z6.
It was not without reason, then» that the  Nunc Dimittis"
was read twice that evening in the hollow of the Downs ;
or that the preacher ruade a thrilling sermon out of Caleb
and the Harder Thing.

WORCESTER. Selt" 3 o, I t) I ç ; midnigbt.
 As one that findeth great spoils." Things have not gone
very well: 1 have plenty to do, plenty to get, matters to
settle with « Details', and my week's final leave to whistle
for. Yet that phrase sprang» I do not quite know whence,
to my lips this morning and rang through my head all tle
day. For after breakfast I heard I was for tke Front at once ;
and, as the Psalmist said  I was glad ".



CHAPTER III

ApRI. ro OCTOBEtt 9t5
WHE¢ Southwell first went to the Plain, \Vhite was still
at home impatient tbr definite work. For two months he
made e0rts in many quarters to find the place which he
wanted and which was due to him in view of his experience
in the O.T.C. On May 3  he eventually joined the 6th
Battalion (Special Reserve) ofthe Rifle Brigade at Sheerness,
with Lieutenant's rank. Though he round it harder than
Southwell to adapt himself without regrets to the new lire,
his influence was great» as his fellow-oflïcers well knew.
His sense of humour won him friends, and he was always
human. But he did not surrender the many interests that
had been his belote he entered the R egiment. He could
stock the shelves of his Mess with volumes of Tolstoy and
Galsworthy yet no one resented this as academic ; it was
accepted as natural and won him respect. One of the
officers said of him later : « I can imagine no one who was
better form, better company,or better anything, than White.'
And another of his friends there writes of him :  What
everybody liked about him so much was that, although he
was considerably older than many of us, he was always free
and easy with us.' At one time he was imitating the
Battalion Sergt.-Major, at another the Paddinon Express
entering Birmingham Station. He would leap the settees
in the Mess ; and his adventures on his motor-bicycle,



M.G.W. April 9 " 8
which (for the first rime in his lire) he had just bought,
delighted every one.  He kncw nothing about the bike,'
the letter goes on, ' and I think rather prided himself on
the f-act. If ever, when we were out together, something
happened and « the thing '" wouldn't g% we could only push
it along the road--l've done several mlles with him !---or
fling it into the nearest ditch .... He was so wondcrfully
simple in his tastes. He used to find endless enjoymcnt
in going over to Hollingbourne of a Sunday, having a good
lunch with excellent beer» and a walk after with his « pijp '" 1
in his mouth.--I remember» when I took him to the Sheer-
ness Theatre» how he was bored to tears. He said what
he really enjoyed was a good blood and thunder drama.
So when Tbe Rosary came down I took him again. He
was highly delighted with parts of it because the tragic
acting was so ludicrous. Of course his violin-playing was
ripping. The fellow nex.t door to us had a gramophone»
and he had Bach's Concerto for two violins. The Man
would tune his violin carefully and play to the gramophone.'
Another friend of his says- « Do you know that from the
day I arrived to the day he went to France he gave up
almost everything to make things pleasant t'or me ? He
had been in the Battalion then for a good many months
and had a lot of friends» and yct he always was ready to go
for walks or bicycle-rides or anything with me. I know
that he was fond of me» but above and beyond that lay his
inherent unselfishness to please others."
The rest of the story of his lire there follows in his own
words.

 On the aralogy of «lVl;ijn" for « Mine "» used of the Dutch
forces in the gaine of L'attaque.

e18 G



82 M.G.W. April xgx)"

LETTERS

To H. E. E. HowsoN. 2Vlere CottageOxton.
.dpril I2,» I9I ç.
Thank you a'wfuIIy. It's a haversack, and a beautiful one
as you say. x Thank you awfully. (This in the Psalms com-
mentaries wou]d be called poetry, because of repetition of
the sentence above.)
With regard to the War and me, things are proceeding

slowly.
I am having a slack rime.
nor eating neither.

To HrS SrSTER, MRs. REID.

Sleep isn't the wo d for it,

2lere CottageOxton.
2qprll z6, I9 5"

I got an awful shock to see Frank Chubb's death in The
Times to-day ; also Rupert Brooke. There are no words
for this news.
(With reference to your tea-party of babies) I never can
understand the idea of massing babies. Surely babies are

only nice when taken separately ?
tl:ey appreciate one another.

To H. E. E. Howso.

It's absurd to suppose

Man, it's a mistake to let the War divert one from the
geod things. One ought to be reading poetry and studï-
ing music and all the other things with more stimulus than
in peace rime. What I mean is that there is a tendency
for  us who sit at home ' to say, • Well, we're not fighting
and we can't realise the War, but let's sit as motion-
less as possible and try to imagine it '. An attitude of
 As Humpty Dumpty said of his cravat.



1I. G.W. M.ay IgI j"

tbrcd and  appropriate' sympathy, in fact. In so far as
O.T.C. will allow of it I think there ought to be more art
and thought at Shrewsbury than ever.

To C. A. ALINGTON. dVlere Cottage--Oxton.
la.y I7» I9 ç.
I think very longingly of Shrewsbury now that terre Eas
started again. I do hope I shall have a chance to comc
down, some timc this terre.
Yours cver,
MALCOLM WHITE
Capt. S.S.O.T.C.
Lieut. Ith R.B.
Lieut. 6th R.B.
.n.t Lt. Izth Manchesters.
znd Lt. K.S.L.I.

 and many many others, he added with drunken solemnity'.
(I signed myself thus • to a man at the 1,V.O. recently,
and [ hope it bas now l:een file&)

To H. E. E. Howso. Oxton.
.alay i 9
I'm getting very depressed with ail this waiting--can't
read even though I'm trifling with Gariaaldi a»d the _alaking
of Italy. Also feeling unfit now and altogetler I have a
premonition that something will prevent me ever going
into any Regiment.

• The letter was written at a time when his future Regiment was
still unknown.

G 



84 M.G.W. June 9r

To HIS FATHER. Sheerness.
y»»e , 9.
It bas been a gorgeous day here. This afternoon West
and I walked along the sea front watching the destroyers
darting in and out across the blue.
liarily I have done very lifle worktaken a remnant
of a Company for one hour's route march inspected the
lines signed a number of cheques» and spem a fearful bout
with he artermaser-Sergean over a Pay and Mess book
the figures of which I don' understand and never shall.
Founately he Company accouns are only closed once
a month and a month hence I shall eiher know something
abou it, or I shall be doing diCent work.
Draffs leR for the Fron a 4. his morning, from the
h and 6th» each with a dièren hand o play flem o
so wih hat and the Zeppelins and animals (sheep» cocks»
horses and larks) who woke with the dawn» I did no sleep
as well as I shall to-night. The Mess-room is very nice»
also inhabiants and in his fine weathe G the camp (about
, tains, away). No news. I think s is going to be
good.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Sheerness.
une ._,  g x s.
I will tell you ail about this place in anothcr ]etter when
I have rime to describe things as they deserve. I ara
moderatelyhappy. I feel young for my duties and old tbr
my fellow-officers. I ara in charge of a Company of OE+o
invalided men (mostly), back from the Front.
We bave a very prosperous Mess at the Sheerness Con-
servative Club, which is like a good many Conservative
Clubs, I should think. Large and ' beefy" pictures of Lord



M. G.W. June 191 }"

8f

Roberts and Buller and a large and rich saloon bar below
our Mess-room suggest the soundest political views of the
members in peace rime.
I should like a Salopiau.

To ts S[STER. Sheerne.
3 :une 5, lg5-
My Company have nearly all been to the Front and
wounded» and are now convalescent and doing light duty.
I feel almost ashamed to pretend to command men who
bave been at the Front» but of course we do very little work
and my chier job is signing cheques and passes» and paying
the men, and general administration» at which l'm very bad.
I feel like that, having hOt long awakened from three
hours" deep sleep having had the saine number of houm
last night» owing to having to walk round visiting the
guards .o to 3.%the farthest limitofwhichwas a coast-guard
overlooking the sea from clips. It was mysterious coming
suddenly on a view ofthe se% grey and vague in an uncertain
dawn.
This isn't really at all a bad place but the Isle of Sheppey
is rather smellg and low-lying at times (well, it's always
low-lying). I hope to get out for a walk in mid Kent
when I get a little time. The sea front and the destroyers
are fun.
I had to go to Church Parade this morning at 9.ze. It
was good having the free use of one's lungs in the hymns 
the men make a terrific noise. We had the band to play
us there and back with music comedg and the regimental
match» a splendid thing» which l've known for a long time.
The band is quite good. It's glorious weather ber% and I
ara sunburnt and fit.



86 M.G.W. June i9i j"

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Slaeerless.
Jl¢re 9, I9IJ"
AIl about myself. I came here ten days ago and ara
moderately happy. I ara in command of a convalescent
Company, men back from the 3rd and +tla Bris. There is
little work connected with it, as the men are on light duty.
The wo:-k is all that of administration, signing cheques,
failing to understand documents and signing them etc.,
and condemning men to various punishments at 9.o a.m.
in my Company office. I ara beginning to understand a
little about this very slowly. The N.C.O.'s are inaudible
and allusive in connection with everything I don't under-
stand. (Do you know, a luggage label is A. F. zosa
tact.) I ara bullied by my C.S.M. and C.Q<_.M.S. and
hopelessly in their power. West is my only subaltern.
l've been orderly ocer and ara at present Captain of the
weekrather strenuous» especially as the guards we provide,
find, or famish, are all over the island of Sheppey, and in-
specting them at night mea;s a cool walk of two hours,
.o to 3.° a.m.
1 don't suppose I shall get to the Front for a long time.
One has to go through a good deal firste.g. I bave to
do a fortnight's musketry, firing chiefly myself, when the
Range-Finder course is over. Seems rather absurd.
Then I expect I shall go over to Q.eenboro' for definite
Hcld Training, when a Captain is available to command
my 'F' Coy. The N.C.O.'s here are very fine and give
me an idea of the greatness ofthe R.B.

To H. E. E. Howsox. S/.eerîess.
June 9, 191 .
I ara getting to know really ail about the Infantry
No. z Range-Finderst!e first mechanical toy l've ever



M. G.W. June 9" 87
appreciated. I ara nearl 7 going to get a motor-bike and
a cigarette case.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Sheerness.
yu»e  6, 9  S.
Your wire tore me into two or more parts: The
perturbed mind flies hither and thither through all parts'
(Virgil). [ do want to see the Corps drill awfuIly badly ; I
thought it would be very fine. But do you really think it
would be sound for me to corne on Speech Day ? Think
of me wanting to see Men and boys and to hear turns,
in the middle of Speech Day, with everybody taken up
with parents etc. Ara I not right in this really ? But
how am I to see the Corps drill ? Can't you have a parade
on Saturday instead of Tuesday or Friday when I come?
Can't it be worked somehow ?
]t's possible I may be shunted from here on a special job
of very especial interest, about which I expect I oughtn't
to talk. I ara again in two minds about this. I can give
Virgil points in this respect after the experience of the last
four months.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. $heerness.
eune z3» 1915-
I am now cricket officer for the Battalion (i.e. I was
present by chance when the Colonel was discussing cricket
for the men. I am a cricket expert). We want katspads
etc., and all the panoply of cricket.
Oh ! and I want my Chaucer. Man, I'm sorry to be such
a nuisance.



88 M.G.W. June
To H. E. E. Howso. Sbeerness.
)tloe z7, 1917-
l've left my invalid Company as an invalid Captain has
now turned up to take them, and l've gone over to a more
active Company, which is good, or will be when this shoot-
ing is over. It is a funny business here. I command
Platoons, Companies, and this morning I took Church
Parade and yelled ' Stand to your front,--'Talion ", in the
middle of the Sheerness traflc, and had a large and rich
banal in front of me.
Chaucer a good man, especially after open air fatigue.
On Thursday a west wind blew all the good smells of
Engand in June on to this blasted island, and 1 went a
glorious walk on the Kent Downs.
To HIS SISTER. Shrewsury.
Uly II I9I ç.
Oh! the joy of this visit! To look out of the window
at Wellington for the Shropshire hills» blue and beautiful
in the late evening as I arrived, and to reach the School
gates just as the boys were streaming clamorously out of
Top Schools» and to haul oneself into the middle of masters
and boys, young kind, brilliant» and apparently glad to
see one again. Southwell arrived on Saturday morning.
He has written some lovely stuoE prose and verse» in the
intervals of militarism on Salisbury Plain, and he is in
good form. So is every one, considering all things. The
Corps mightily efficient. The Head in great humour and
Knox and Bainbrigge being incredibly brilliant.
Oh! It is a place. And I return on Tuesday, and to-
morrow I shall bave to say ' I leave to-morrow'. However,
l've nearly 4.8 hours yet, and only bave to catch the 7-+5
from Victoria.



M. G.W. July  9  r 8 9

To THE MENTHE NEW Hotrsv.. 8heerness.
uly If, 19I %
( By teleKram. )
Have left bats autostrop-strop and soul at Shrewsbury
please send all if possible. Prose * follows to-day.

To C. A. ALINGTON. Eastchurch Camp.
uly,  9  .
I bave no marrer for a letter» and j, et I want to send you
a line betbre terre ends. It is strange» but I don't think
I ever felt the end of . terre so keenly bebre; perhaps
because I bave no nightmare of exam. papers and marks to
put away from me, but chiefly because Shrewsbury, alive
and c carrying on'» has bçen such a comçorting and solid
çact to an exile» and it bas been pleasant to picture the
place at various routine times. And holidays mean the
breaking up of all that, and the central fact of my life
partially collapses for a rime. lqostrum est interim mentem
erigere.
I ara, happily» temporily (military spelling ; e.g. rotary
for rot:*tory» systemically for systematically--so simple) six
toiles from Sheerness» in a really charming spot. lXly
Company dig trenches all day, and I watch them. It is
more tiring than it sounds. Are you going to be in Kent
these lolidays ? I ask because ),ou were in the Easter holi-
days, and I think I ara going to gct a motor-bicycle. That
is the result of continuous militarism.

For the Fourth Form.



9o M.G.W. july xgx 5

To H. E. E. Howso. Fastchurch.
8unda, July -5, 1915"
I wonder if, evcn now (4.50 p.m.)» Men are taking a last
look for this year at the Battalion. Oh M-n I wonder too
if you know b, ow I felt, when you s-w me off: a fortnight
ago» and you and the Nue hills and Shrewsbury were drawn
swiftly away and then finally blotted out by the Wrekin.
( I never liked thatWrekin' mightn'tyour nurse have said ?
and I like him now less for his insolence and relentlessness
that evening.) I was somewhat comforted by the dinner at
which I was your grateful guest, but I was horribly conscious
of the increasing absence of the host.
I am rather dismal about the end of term. Isn't that
odd ? But I like to feel that Men (and boys) are there and
that the place is solid» and exists for me to picture at any
moment I like. The end of terre causes it to lose something
of its existence for me.
l've had a wonderful letter from the Man to-day. I wish
we were togetherit is really a tragedy. He is lonely»
and so ara I very often.

To C. A. ALINGTON. Eatchurch.
lug. » I9I 5.
I am hoping we shall get some Salopians here.
It was good to get last week's 8alopia» and to read « The
Elm and the River ', which I loved.
Will you forgive this pencil ? My fountain pen is lost,
and tbere is no ink nearer than my Qg_artermaster-Sergeant's
tent» and, « if I may say so', I'm more frightened of him
than of you.
 An address by the Head Master, given in Chapel : published
in 8rsbury Fables.



M. G.W. September 191 - 9 

To H. E. E. Howso. Cal)el Curig.
Sept. II-I4» 1915.
Just to tell you that to-day l've been over Pen Helig,
past Craig yr Ysfa, Carnedd Llewelyn, Carnedd Daf),dd,
and remembercd out walk. It was a similar day» and very
wondefful»--in and out of the clouds. But the 13erwyns»
Arenig, and all tlose were there.
Kitcll will tell you of out regimental sports and the
clowns who are always hired on such occasions to be funny
during the High Jump and Putting the Weight---the Auto-
Spinal. When ata loss they knocked each other over with
incredible violence from behind. Think ofit and shudder
at it.

To H. E. E. Howsou. Sheemess.
Sept. 1915 .
That was all very, very good : the Thames on Saturday
night» the bous% the books, the hope of seeing great men.
Andwasn't it good seeing the Man and hearing the combined
laug',;tcr of Three Me:l again ?

To H. E. E. Howsol. Sheerness.
Sept. 2% I9X ç.
There is a new list up (liable for the front soon). I am hot
on it. But two ofmy real friends here» Buxton and Russell-
Smith» are. Rotten; n% very annoying. The Adjurant
has just told me that thc Colonel wants me here for the
present» being so short of senior officers at the moment.
I never pretend that I vaaut the trenches; but one part of
myself says to the other part--  This war is an ordeal which
I date you to face ; I don't believe you can»' and the other
part replies--  Lord» then I suppose I must try.'
* At Purfleet on Sept. I9.



9 2 M.G.W. September  9 )-
I enclose three copies of those notes you asked for, and
! hope they will be useful in the O.T.C. I must try and
corne for a field day etc. some time this term.
I am really beginning to understand the Machine Gun.
It is an intricate machine, but fascinating, rather, l've
spent about two hours a day this week at it.
To C. A. ALINGTON. Sheerness.
Sunday, Septemher z6, 19  7"
Please forgive me for so late a reply to your so we!come
ferrer. I ara so glad you are ail back again. I said in a
letter to H. E. E. H. yesterday that I felt as if my comportent
pa,ts had been fitted together again.
I biked out to a good place on the Pilgrim's Way to-day,
to see what Autumn was being like. I imagine it at Shrews-
bury a cobwebby dew in the mornings, a few brown leaves
disturbed by brand-new football boots» and every one feeling
amazingly vigorous and wonderfully virtuous. I always
feel I could do anything at the beginning of a Winter term.
13rowning's
How weli I know what I mean to do
When the long dark autumn-evenings corne
enters into the feeling too, and means a lot. Oh yes! it
is a very good season.

DIARY

)Tu»e "-9, I916"
This little diary is really the result of a desire to express
myself to my friends. There are so many impressions
which I have had and so many emotions which I bave felt,
that the first instinct was to get them down on paper. If
any one reads this, they wiil take it as an attempt at talk,



M. G.W. July 191 - 9 3
when there were hot people to express oneselfto who would
bave been like]y to respond. But, though the War bas
bmught me many impressions and ruade me want to talk
to some one, it bas ruade me incapable of expression, and
sometimes, in this diary, what was really emotion may be
taken tbr sentiment. Well, it is not. Still--you wi]l all
understand.
(My servant is waiting to pack this up.)

.l¢lday, ldy i 8,19 I
Moved to Eastchurch for digging, in command of ' H '
Coy. This is a good place, after Shecrness. Fecl as if I was
in England. The camp is high up, and there are big trees,
a bit of friendly sloping down, and a church clock close by.
No compulsion to belong to any organised Mess, and if I
cooked my own food over a tire near my tent, I don't think
any one would object. .Also a large and wonderful Tudor
House with a story about Henry VIII and Arme Boleyn
connected with it. Here lie the 5th R.B. 1 think I shall
like this.
»da, y»¢i9.
Entrenching all day, 9.o to 5.o, with great swinging
views out to sea and across the flats to the Kentish Downs.
I didn't know so fine a place existed on the Island.
Tuesday, July zo.
At the trenches, Adam and I had dinner from the cook-
bouse instead ofbeastly sandwiches. A discovery--draught
beer out of a bottle is a poor drhal« This is a good village.
There is an old church» and a very old man, a great noise
in the evening» and a Post Office selling everything--
alarm clocks, indiarubber balls, and ail things to eat--and
smelling of everything. A pleasing event was the pursuit



94 M.G.W. July
by a small boy, with a lire frog in each hand, of ail
his small sisters. I watcbed it with much joy especially
the apFearance of the mother of the party, serious but
relieved that ' it was no worse , and shouting cautions in
no way connected with the frogs. I sympathise with A. C.
Benson in his abrption in small things of that kind. I
fancy it's the kind of thing that inspired the Dutch gegre
painters. ey must bave frit a lot more than they put on
CIlVaS.
Remark by my srvnt who scrved in U.S.A. rmy
Mexico- « The lte President of Mcxico was the gretest
scounflrcl unfler rb« cano  beae. 
West Townshend» and Middlebrook visited us from
Sheerness this evening. It was good of them and very
pleasant. Had an hour's lonelires and depression» partly
due to the bad news flore Russia. Also wanted to talk to
some one about everything. Ail very we]l saying there is
no « class' in England or that it is hOt advisable to try and
remove class distinction» when I feel that the Tommies
under me are an entirely diffhrent kind of beings .... I read
Sabire Lad ald Browning "s Last Duche« that amazing
thing. I find I have a kind of emotional indigestion these
days, when I read poetry. Every word has such terrific
force and is so overloaded with meaning that I can hardly
get on.
Rained and we returned to camp early. Read a very
good « After the War" pamphlet» Chariot of
viday, t, ly
 A day without salt.'



M. G.W. July 9tr 9r

Church Parade and Bathing Parade with the ride full up
and sandy beach at Leysdown--very good. On return
found a lot of letters for me, including one from A. E. K.
about Shrewsbury people for the R.B. eing booked for the
th Batt. I got excited and more fussy than l've been
since I began the military life» and dashed offto Minster
to see a Captain ofthe th Batt., and then to Sheerness to
sec Col. Dawson, and dined there and wrote scores ofletters,
most ofthem excited and illegible. Biked back and got to
Eastchurch about .o a.m.

A gorgeous clear day still and hot, suggestive of August»
and ruade one regret the passing ofthe real summer, which
is June. At sunset a cloud to the north-west looked like a
blue hill against the gold light» and in an instant I was
many toiles away--cool night air the trees shivering in the
middle of the Common,' and the Stiper-stones.
Tuesday» yuly z7.
Have just been to a camp concert. There was a one-
stringed violin with a trumpet attached a very funny rifle-
man comedian» and a lady-reciter--a typical reciter with
a pale iory complexion» dark eyebrows rather tired look,
and a clear-cut dental enunciation. It was rather good to
feel spinal again. There is so little room for spinality in
the Army. Still the lady was rather relentless--five recita-
tions in two appearances» and we missed having the funny
rifleman again. One rifleman sang a rather doleful and
unintelligible song with a rousing chorus to the words And
a little child shall lead them'! This merged without any

* The playing-fields at Shrewsbury.



96 M.G.W. July x9 x "
break into a series of ragtimes which he
extremely skilfully on the bones.

accompanied

Term ended at Shrewsbury to-day--always» or nearly
always» rather a sad event for me» and more so this terre.
For Shrewsbury alive and always tobe pictured at certain
hours has been a very solid fact in my lire since I came here.
Also there is a kind of strength in the knowledge of a
number offriends congregated like that. So I feei the end
of term almost as keenly as I have felt it when one woke
early in the morning of First Day» tired and aching after
a week oflate nights over papers to hear the clamorous
procession ofcabs» the slamming of doors and the jettison
of portmanteaux.
A wonderfully bright and very hot day. I dined at
Sheerness Mess and rode a bicycle back in the moonlight,
towed half-way by a friendly motor-bicycle.

iugust 6.
Like ail diaries Iever commenced this bas already begun
to rail. Last week-end at the Wests' lots of singing and
playing which was very good. This week bas been chiefly
remarkable for my début as a motor cyclist. I bave been
trying a ramshackle thing with a view to purchas% but l've
now ordered a new one from London. I'm already over the
novelty of it» and I expect I shall hate it before long» but
it seems a very useful thing here.
. What is madness ? « Faddist ?' Crank ?'
z. Must progress be slow ?
3" What is real courage ?
t. An,vthing can succeed if men will only let it,



M. G.W. September I9 t $ 97
Friday, Sept. to.
After regimental sports» started for Capel Curig by night.
One of the attractions of night-journeys is that it is a kind
of secret, even though the people at the other end know
one is coming. I had to change at Crewe, which was bad,
one of the essential features of a night-journey being an
import:mt-looking through train.
Sunday, Sept.
1 slept at the Terrace, the saine as ever, and ail things
as if there was never a war in the world ; the clock an hour
tkst, the chairs in their old places and in tle bed-room the
print of the COMMO S:aevr.r. framed with sea-shells, te
unexplainablc and fadcd photos of two fine alpine glacie%
the black-framed memorial of Mr. Harry Roberts» ar.d a
l-uge coloured picture of Moses, bearded and sandalled,
shading his eyes, with an enormous curve of the wrist»
towards the Promiscd I.and. The same grateful-sounding
creak ofthe garden gate bringing memories ofthe patter of
summer tain outside the window.
On Monday a great walk over Pen Helig and the
Carnedds. There are many things which make the
Carnedds almost the best range in Wales»the steep view
down on to the plain of Anglesey, the changing outline of
Tryfaen and the Glyders and the endless ranges of hills to
the south where a straight curtain ofcloud so often hangs»
touching the summits and making one think that by stoop-
ing down one might see more underneatb. If I was a
painter I sb.ould do that ver), well.
Sunday, Sept.  9"
Chiefly remarkable for a meeting of Men. We round
E. H. L. S. and dined with him at Purtteet. Where dinne G
turns, and the collective laughter of Men againoh ! very
good.



CHAPTER IV

E. H. L. S.

O6"roBER 19I  TO IZEBRUAR¥ 1916

Sou l'nw.t,L joined thc 9th Battalion in France at the be-
ginning of Octobcr» 9ç- The first day that he went up
with thc Battalion to the trenches was October  5- Thesc
trenches wcre in front of Ypres» and it was in this district
that he remained, whetber in trenches in rescrv% or
in billets, until Fcbruary. On November zo he caught a
chill on a frosty night» while on duty in thc trenches; as
a result» he was in hospital until December $. He was»
however» in the trenches once moe on December 9-
During this month thcre were rumours that his Battalion
was to be transferrcd from France to the East but on
December OE6 ho wrote that this was cancellcd.
He had a narrow cscape on the night ofJanuary ç
while wiring in front ofthe line. His Companycommander
heard the click of- German machine-gun» and warned him
just in timc to savc his lire. From January 9 to --6 ho
was home on leave, and was at Shrcwsbury on the zznd.
\Vhite met him in London on his rcturn to France. At
he beginning ofFebruary he had tcmporary command ofhis
Company» during its commander's absence on leave; and it
was soon after this that White first came to France.



E.H.L.S. October 9 " 99

LETTERS

To H. E. E. HowsoN. On the train s
l'orcester to Paddington.
Oct. I» I9I $. 6p.m.
I write these lines by the courtesy of Professor Moriarty»
as it were. So they mustn't be very lengthy.
They don't give much notice» of course ; in tact we were
clear within a short rime of receiving the W.O. message
from the Adjutant. I don't a bit know where l'm going»
though I suppose the x3th as likely as anything. But they
may hot have been in this last scrap.
So I didn't require The Open Road after ail» and must
write to tell them to return it (if it's there) to Worcester.
I wired the Man at Sheerness and l've just a hope he may
be in town when I get there. Incredibly good, if true.
Good-bye, Man. O11 pretty good, I do think.

To R. F. BaLE¥. On train
Vorcester to Paddington.
Oct.
Yes, I'm offto the Front early to-morrow morning : don't
know where, but I suppose there's room in plenty of places
for even the likes of me after these fev¢ days. I shall post
this when I get in ; it can only be a short scrawl, to send
lny love.
Terrific success over gum-architect this morning ; had
wisdom tooth out without any pain whatevcr--marvellous
he jammed cocaine on it or something. Felt frightfully
virtuous after it, too. Good business.
The Man's here!' Not too bad.

' White met him in London.
H 7.



x oo E.H.L.S. October x 91 

To HIS MOTHER. On the train.
O¢t. -. IgI .
\Ve got off with everything quite correct and it was
delightful to bave White there to meet me.
When the grandson of Mr. Gladstone wrote to his
mother from France, he said  It is not the length of a life-
rime that counts but what is achieved in it ". I thought
that these were very true words» and it will surely be enough
fir me if I could be worthy of them.
I don't think [ can write any more now. All's well;
1 most deeply believe that. Pray that I ma t' hot doubt it
aftcrwards, and never mind the rest.

-Ço HIS SISTF.R. B.E.:
Ogt. lZ» IgI .
1 was pretty sleepy last night» and I slept without a break
for e!even hours here, but in camp. Oh! but the Dawn
over Flandcrs, and the booming of a big bombardment
tCarther away, in a different direction, and the glorious sort
of war-wind with just the right amount of suggested pesti-
|ence in it that b]ew over the fields as the sun rose
and remindcd one that one was in a big sl:ow ; and right
below olle tl:e wood huge on the map, ten short stumps on
the ficld ; and the city of Ypres with hOt a bouse standing
entire; and thc terribly sad view of glorious churches,
battcred to blazes» seen as the mist cleared ii1 the morn-
ing, weeping to break one's heart across the desolate plain.
Oh ! if I could always be as happy as I was during that
trial trip» I should hOt bave much to complain of! And
then the men were so glorlous. Tlzey'd bcen in the trenches
continuously for man,, many days» begrimed from head to



E. H. L.S. October x 9  "

I0I

foot, their eyes heavy with want or solid slcep, and their
whole appearance quite difl;erent from that of men who've
hOt been up. It was a very, very young Corporal, and
there was a deuce of a bombardment on, and the Sergt.-
Major met him: «What are you doing?' «Oh! just
issuing rations, Sergt.-Major.' That is not particularly
remarkable, no doubt, and that is just why it is worth
quoting, as being so frightthlly typical. WeIl, there wasn't
any risk as far as I was concerned on that occasion» and it
was only whcn we got back that somebody said, ' By Gad,
we've been under tire ; what fun !'

To MRS. WHITFIELD. 9th Battalion Ri_fie Brigade, B.E.F.
Oct. I z,  9  "
That aftcrnooa two of us got one and a half hours' notice
to get up to the trenches ' for instruction' with another
8attalion : and actually during those one and a half hours
in came your parcel !
Wc had a glofious rime there ; we were heavily shelled,
coupled with almost complete safety; and what more in-
teresting experience could you wish ? SafoEy, because our
front line was too cloee to theirs to be aimed at, but
out support trenches (and in fact the back of my dug-
out, onlyby ?agments--occionally, in rhe front line)
got hit. Yet only one casualty as their shells mostly fell
between us and them. It went on for two hours and was
called 'fairly intense ', i.e. nothing like that before an attack.
Digging a new trench at sixty yards from the Bosches under
flares and (bad) rifle shots was less of an arm-chair show,
rather 
I wod like you to think that my thirty-s hours there
are a good omen, for they were abmlutely the best l
ever knew. I loved cvething ; at every step» even in thc



x 02 E.H.L.S. October x 9  "

 horrible mire and cla), ', 1 seemed so much the more
admitted right into the Great Show. But I ara getting
foolish and must stop. It is because I ara very, ver},
happy.

To J. O. WHITFIELD. 9th R.B.PB.E.F.
Octo[,er t z, ! 917.
1 believe rather firml), that there is No Spinality in 'ar.
But you must go to the front line trenches to pro-e
that, or the conditions arc hardly fulfilled. V/hat the
support line may be ]ikc I do hOt know, for during a
recent bombardment I gallantly turncd my back on it ;
since the front line, let me add, was only forty yards ri'oto
the Bosches and theii artillery couldn't very well go for us
there. But I confess to-day to experiencing once a very
uncomfortabl¢ sensation, in reserve. * That '» I said to
myself, « seems to me spinal» and therefore I must bave left
the ,Var behind.'
And indeed I had. The inconceivab]c prospcct of a
wooden-lined dug-out» in reserve, with the yellow leaves and
the October terre, and nothing but the shells, still bullying
the battered remains of the city a couple of hundred )ards
away, to remind one of realitiesthis was indeed a change.
We weren't idle : six hours' digging per day kecps one fit all
right. But this sort of digging is hot ]ikc making a new
trench at fifty yards» and there is rime (when the thrce
aeroplane whistles go, and work and staring upwards are for-
bidden) to look over one's shoulder and watch the crumbled
bouses and ruined towers. « Hate the business ?' Wh),»
there is hot a blade of grass or a broken brick which does
hot remind one that no one ever k, ad such a rime in his lifc
as this of mine» nor over will again! Oh yes» I ara in



E.H. 1,. S. October igy

a colos,,rlly good temper. But then I have had nothing to
go through yet» like those others.
Good night : ail's well.

To tqs F,THER. B.E.F.
Oct. t6» t9t .
Well! hcre we are in good, though hot very sweet,
dwellings beneath the Earth. Itis strangc how pcrfkctly
natural itis to me now» already, to go to ç bcd' tmder-
ground and slcep like a tired child. It tèelc more as ifone
was in a low wec room.
Ycs, I cannot rail to know that I ana being praycd for by
the dcar people 1 leave behind, l hope you saw my long
letter about my  instructional trip' itx the other 8attalion's
trenches. I might bave beex being tangiMy supFortcd , so
tremendously assut-ed in that period did 1 fcel of the help
I needed.
Itis a strange lit'e» and yct I feel as if l had always lived
in a cave. Itis so natural ! I do need the help I receiv%
God knows how much!

To H. E. E. HowsoN. B.E.F.
October» 191 .
Oh Man, Man! but what oould you say if; somewhere
in the most glorious place in Flander% deep buried beside
what I doubt hot is a looted « bed' in a dug-out behind the
line (we came out of four days in the trenches, very, very
good, but not ver), eventful, a da), or two ago) ),ou fbund,
gloriously thumbed and tom, a terrific illustrated edition
of the
Chanxon de Roland !
Als% Man» it is the October terre. The evenings begin



Io4

E H. L.S. October 191 f

at 4.30, and however bored one may be at the invitation to
 Stand to' at that hour in the trenches, onc makes up by
some vcry fine thinking of home when ont cornes out.
AIl of which howeve G },ou shall ste in a better letter
than this which I propose sending Phiz, to whom I owe one.
Man, ' you should eat less and write more '. Itis a fine
world.

Fo J. O. WHITFIELI). 9th R.B.mB.E.F.
October z+» x9 5-
Wonderful» perfectly wonderful» that Lendrum version of
\V. W." And I can imagine you rcading every word
of it with à sort of triumpl b for it is indeed wonderfull¥
fitting from first to last... «v «otp.?Tatp.«Taoeo'r] r«o'wv
 rtmp.a'ot¢is it hot ? It m ust be something to know
how he fell»  and that he almost certainly suèred nothing.
Ah yes» the end of The Republic. Doub]e-marked in
my Adam edition I think. Oh yes» « rdp.«u, bcyond a
doubt» ifwe are br the %tZdr¢ r0pda. I ara not ungrateful
for the quotation» any more than I was for the close of your
first lette G written so long ago]
Well there it is. Ail is quiet her% behind the line-
it seems monstrously luxuriou% really. The three best
days I cver had I think» were when we had just
corne out of trenches» and lived in dug-outs on the edge
of the ruined city. We dug furiouslj, and slept like log%
while in reserve : it seemed the only thing to do. No
one shelled us or worried us, though they did hot spare
the city.

' William Watson :  Well he slumbers» greatly slain.'
lated into Greek Elegiacs by W. T. Lendrum.
 znd Lieut. G. H. Whitfield.

1-1"all$



E. H. L.S. October  9  - , o -

To C. A. ALINGTON. 9th R.B.--B.E.F.
October z ç  191 ç.
Thank you very much for your lettcr and the' Broad-
shcet '.' l've only scen ont or two ofthen b and thcy do makc
a plcasant change ri-oto C. zzt--the message form which
cornes dumping down from H.Qa _. and was about ail the
Iitcraturc we got in the trenchcs.  It may bc ail very wcll
to run down the men who make these things,' but therc "s a
somcthing ....
Out time in the trenches was short, a baie four days,
and fairly uneventful. I laugh to think of out cxit» though.
It must bave been a comic sight to sec me hopping along
the parapet (we wcre well behind the front tronches, of
course!) and shouting  AIl those who don't want to be
shelled at daybreak must get a more on]' There was
realIy a ver I, good chance we'ld be spotted» but no ont» bar
a tw snipers» seemed to notice our absurd line. But they
fairly hobbled along after that» and we got out with no
casualties once more, and waddled home to dug-outs in
reserve, a most ludicrous spcctacl% at dawn. Yet at the
rime there was something rather thriIling about it ; hot
because there was any real riskI wanted to frighten them,
rather than anything else, so as not to corne in ail anyhow--
but a procession of men as near  done ' as no matter is hot
an easy thing to contemplate quite unmoved. But it is all
such very small becr, all this business, and I fecl halfashamed
of describing it» as I did after writing to Kitch. As I told
them next day» i£it had been Mons» they'ld havc had ail

' One of the  7rime Broadsheets '.



E. H. L.S. October  9  

t hat slc«plessness, plustwenty-five mlles ' ma rch, plus fighting
pursuing Germans !
\,Vell, we are in reserve bchind the line now, and cvcr}'-
thing is verg peaceful. Hence the opportunitg to write this
rather absurd rigmarole. One gets rather garrulous, I
supFose , over the small escapades" and looking back on
some of those dags, theg were reallg uncommonlg good fun.
I cnjo)ed cverg minute of them--with a few small excep-
tions onl)'.
I sec from Tt;e Salopian that our casualtics havc tison
enormouslg in the holida),s. One would hot bave it other-
wise, no doubt; but the thing seems likelg to go on.
Pupils of mg own are beginning to appear in increasing
numbers» and I can't e philosophical, tien; though one reads
the other dailg casualtg lists with a fortunate callousncss.

To M. (;. WHITE. 9th R.B.B.E.F.
October ŒE6, 191 .
It is borne in uIOn me that I have been particularly blasted.
Here ara I safely packed offwith all belongings, very largely
due to you, and not a word sent back. I haven't written
much yet to anybody but my peoFle ; but I wrote a goodish
lcttcr to Kitch and C. A. A. in answer to theirs gestcrda)',
and now that we are back in rescrve it is hOt to be to!eratcd
ttxat I shouldn't send some statemcnt toyou. The crossing
over was quite calm, tlïough pcop:e seemed rather cold and
silcnt. In fact the change» from the actual departure da)
or days, to the gIorious rime we've had sincc, was past
believing. The most priceless ten days in my litk', I think,
werc those that wound up with reserve dug-outs outside
tbe ruined city.



E. H. L.S. November  9 t J" o7

To IVIRs. WHITFIELD. )th R.B.--B.E.F.
October z6» 191 ç.
I had a lctter from Jack two da),s ago, arriving with )ours,
curiousl), enough. He told me ),ou had had thc best news
l/ou could hope for; it is indeed good to hear thc end came at
once» and in such a wa),. At least I can imagine it must be
a ver), grcat consolation, though somehow I don't fccl that
an),bod),, but those who bave the rcal right to» should
intrude any philosoph), of that kind : those who lovcd him
will probably crnploy it themselvcs, and if hot, no infliction
of it b), othcrs seems tolerablc.
You will be surprised it m), enjo),ing the comparative
luxury ofa pen and ink (and a table and ail sorts or con-
veniences, for that marrer): we bave comc right out now
and arc behind the line altogcthcr for a rime.
XVc are billeted in a lovely farm: it mcans scandalou,
prospcrit), for oFficcrs» for wc bave a real roof and a bcd,
morc than I cver had in England sincc April cxcept on about
rive nights ; but the men havc to slcep in barns. Still» I
would bave given worlds for an cxchange into a barn from
trenches, so I suppose the), are]birly happ),. It is the onl),
arm), in histor),» I supposc, which doesn't go hungr), evcr)'
now and thcn» thanks to the A.S.C. ; so that is çomcthing.

To T. E. 13ARTLEET. B././r.
IVevember I » l 9 t f .
Well,the great thing at prescnt is of course thepublication
of V. 's Poems. At least, I suppose )'ou know ail about
the idea» which l think bas gone some way towards exccu-
tion : if hot» there's no harm in telling you, of ail pcople»
though if it is hot common news, I dare sa)' not too much
should bc said about it just )'et. But in any case let me



o8 E.H.L.S. Novembcr 9r
get said early cnough, what I bave fclt ail a]ong, that to
you and the othcr forefathers of thc race of V. s pocts
neither I nor they can ever» bc too gratcful. Things like
that havc only tobe started and they will go: but they
could ncvcr have been started by harangues from me, and
it nceded thc actual poets to set thc ball rolling. I wrote
to Lutener rcccntly; to him too, of course, wc owe a terrific
big lot.
I rcmcmbcr shewing  the book' (tbe book) onc% a year
ago or s% and receiving some rather clever criticisms on the
poems ri-oto him. His main contention wasthat they were
all rather ' pink '. I know what he meant» and so of course
will you. \Vell it is better than having them grey. And
yet rear would not be a bad description of some of them :
what about the Blakeway poems» cspecially those in the
Kipling manner? Kipling surely is a briiliant scarlet at
times.
Meanwhile what poems have you written lately ? I am
quitc sure I bave detected your hand in Tbe Salopian during
the last fcw months. One poet did me the honour of send-
ing me a copy of one of lais works and very fine it was:
if ),ou want to please me enormously, you might do thc
sm«.

To/klRs. A[I-ItTFIELD. 9th R.B.--B.E.F.
1Vo.z.ember 4 ! 9  "
I had a lctter from Shrewsbury to-day and thc postmark
bas rcminded me that you are probably there» or rcccntly
returncd. I hope you enjoyed going thcrc : it is a glorious
plac% when ail is said.
Did I teli },ou that we are really rather spoilt herc at
' Containing poems by members of V. , written in their own
handwriting.



E. H. L.S. November 9"
nights ? Wc actually sleep in bcds" the thing is rather
ridiculou% and I feel aLx awful fraud, especially when l
remember that kind peoplc at hoilae probably think we are
suflering all kinds of unknown hardships and are being
sympathetic. Howcver we'll try and do what we can to
be uncomfortable next rime we go up to the trenches:
something of the kind is really due to you, [ feel ! We didn't
find beds up therc, and yet 1 shall never brget my first real
sleep of four or rive hours in a dug-out aftcr two or three
days up thcr% and how dclightftd the}, werc be),ond an).thing
a bed over ptoduced.
I ana becoming a fait navvy, l bave been on an R.E
 course' and ara absurdly supposed to klaow ail about
trenches and wire and sand-bags ; but I ana really beginning
to think digging is in my line.
The great joy of our servaats wl:o use the kitchen next
door (and think they can't be heard) is to yell ridiculous
broken Eglish to thc small children of the farm. It is
going oil ilOW and thc extraordinary thing is that the]t seem
to make themsclvcs tmderstood. Tl:e children worship
them of course. So do I for that matter: my boy (he is
no more» reall},) is too perfect a servant and fellow gen¢rally
to be believed.
Well here is the gentlcman in question wanting the table
for. dinner so I must close this ratl'.er absurd rigmarole. I
wondcr whcther you bave heaps of Shrewsbur}, news for me:
I shall look forward, s I always do, immensely to your next
letter.

To Mrs. kVxa''.t. B.E.I:
November    t 9  "
1 read» with grcat interest and a curious sense of pride,
the information you havc be«n able to glean: he seems to



IIO

E. H. U S. November I 9 I

have fallen quickly and quietly, like so many of the best
men in the front of it ail, and with that natural inevitable-
ness which secms to leave survivors without surprise or
evcn any detailed story to tell.
I ara glad you enjoyed your visit to the centre of the
universc : thcy are good men, arc they not?

To R. A. Kyox. B.E.F.
November I q., x 9 x ç.
In thcprcscnt situation I can't feel I deserve the goodness
of pcople at home in the lcast. Soit is without any feelings
of regret that I hear, hot to put it too plainly, that the situa-
tion is liable to a change' belote any very long period
bas elapsed. When we are in the trenches again I will
announce thc fact, but at present we are saying very ]ittle
and trying to fcel very secrctiv% an casy task when there
is no knowledge of any particular definitencss to betray.
Thc rime here bas really been more like training in Eng-
land than anything else: we run, slowly and ponderously
after my manner, before breakfast, then parade with smoke-
hclmet G inspect men for absurd deficiencies» shoot a littl%
drill» do muskctry, digging, wiring» make speeches (very
rarely ; l've made two on « trench duties ' to the Company
on wet days mainly because I swore when in the trenches
that 1 would gct about thirty points really hammered into
thcm in a lump, instead of having to strafe a man here and
there in each of txventy-one bays); and so forth. Even
football has round its way in ; and out Coy. is as pleased as
any school evcr was over coming out top in that.
It is ail vcry different from the trenchcs ; s'.eepmg in a
 There was a rumour at this time that the Battalion was to go
to the East.



E.H.L.S. November ,9 I ***
bed »ceins absurd luxury» especially a bed like mine ; one
hopes this period will not convert us all into soft jellies
again. Howevcr, no doubt thi,gs will seem more straight-
forward when we do go in, as one can't help picking up a
iittle scnse in even so short a visit as out last.
lly O.C. Coy. bas been laid up for a week» so I ride his
horse with immense satisfaction; it is a ver), great thing
to ride horses» surely. When I say I ride» I mean that the
horse and I (in that order of seniority) go together» and
have so farwhen on the marchmade a dead heat of it. '
Well, l must sa), good night. My love to the Men and
V. » of course.

To HI SISTER. B.E.F.
llovemker 147  9  "
Mure asks whether the Army has aged me» and the answcr
is, hot an hour ; in fact the whole situation tends the other
way» /'or, over since I joined, I have constantly been in a
subordinate position to people years younger than myself.
Not here so much, for 1 ara getting older again ; but in
the th there were lots of men junior to me» and I fclt
like 9 instcad of OEg» and a very good thing too !
But 1 ara quite ready to believe that being in a really
thick business ages people sometimes. Eut H. G. Wells
is ta]king through his bat, I think» when he says that
being  sheltered from thought" ages one  surely too much
thinking is just what does age one !

To R. F.B.«LEY. B.E.F.
1Vovember I » 19I ç.
At this point I turn out your other letter (undated, as
Cox & Co. always used to say in reply to mine: but I'm



112 E.H.L.S. November
better now in tkose mattcrs) and 1 tind some very nice
things in it. Oh ]tes, I know that smell of damp leaves.
There would be lots of those here too, with « Michaelmas
Terre, x91" stampcd in unmistakable lettcrs uFon cvery
ont. In t:act, over since I came out, it has bcen only in some
lbolish delusion that [ have not been with you ail the rime.
«Stand to' belote dawn has, in addition to the glorious
fact that the night is coming to an end, the invariab!c
accompaniment of the very academic mist of the plain, to
make me remc,nber things. And it is thc saine befo,c
sunset, whcn ïou are coming home from the w«t leaves
and thc ' tang" of November air, and are preparing, likc
Arthur 8cnson, to pull the chairs round and sit down to
tca. And that ,-eminds me that I am now exactly midway
betveen Jekyll and Hyde, ifyou understand me. When 1
was in England 1 would look quite often at the Army, and
the adorable Plain in pa,ticular, from outside : I was always
a civilian off (my critics would say ' and on') parade. But
yestcrday an A/Cpl. came in with a letter saying his rnother
was not expected to lire, and could his place on the leave
roster be altered ? To which I listened v«ithout a trace of
cmotion, while the O.C. Coy. (who said afterwards that this
was what he could bear less than any amount ofcalamities to
the Company militarily) said that he was afiaid nothing could
bc donc, as the C.O. hadunder ordersgiven out that
in cases exactly of this kind the leave roster must be rigid
or it would never work. And thc moment he left the room
I turned the corner, with an entirely physical sense of
altered perspective, and realised [ was in the prcsence of
a great tragedy. You see, things happen, and go. Ver)-
rarely I try to stop them» fetling This wi]l be good to
rcmember'»  That is better than Daudet" ; but I bave to
climb up behind mg teleoFe to focus them, and it is too



In thc Headmastcr's Garde. Shrcwsburv
]uly, !.115



E. H. L.S. November  9  "   3

tiring. $o I shall be duller than ever» aftcr the War you
see. Ah well.
I wrote to the Man about a fortnight ago ; I fcar it was
something in the nature of a statement, but whether he sent
it on I don't know. I will now go into an enormous bed,
and thank you for getting so far in what seems a most
egotistical tirade. Good night those Men.

To H. E. E. Howso. B.E.F.
lgovem3er I ç , I g z ç.
Man, I think you ought to be encouraged in your kind
proposal to send Tbe Patlo and Tke Me" out here, because
l've already talked dimly about tem to the men with
whom I lire, and as theï are exceedingly good men they
should be taught better ways. Merewether (he's my O.C.
Coy., a z/Lt. like me and most of us) is an old B.N.C. man
of about thity-four, and ver), adorable. The small editions
would be the things as we can't carry much weight of
COUrSe.
I wish you could find out from the Man something he
would like before he cornes out. He was always a good
man, of course  but he insisted on giving me things when
I came out, and generally filled me with such a sense of
unworthiness that I do not even now know which way to
look or what to say: and I wou/d like if possib!e to find
something useful to sling back at him, by way of shewing
l've not forgotten his existence altogether. It reminds me,
by the way, that your map-case invariably accompanies me
on all marches, as it used to in England. In fact, I round
thcre that my constant wearing ofit produced an impre&sion

Hilaire Belloc's Tle Patl to 1me and The Four dIen.



E. H. L.S. November 9  Y

that I was a bit of a man with maps and so I decided the
illusion must be kept up ! You will picture me please on
a route march lqere astride M.'s horse (he being ill), with
the thing on my kne% feeling very cunning and pioneerish.
Also I wish to draw attention to the slight flavour of
Central Erope of which I am unable to free myself wMle
riding slowly through the small towns at the head of the
Company.

To/is FTHER. B.E.F.
INTov. 20 J915.
Tlqis is a glorious ckance for anybody who can keep
rcally cheerful ; and if you wonder what sort of fairy boon I
would like it would be that I should hot really fail there.
At pesent all's very well ; here I am with very wet fcct
indeed» but well fed and rcasonabiy warm. Later I shall
plobably have to be with the wet platoon pretty weIl alI
night.
Well that's what I really need please ! It is very good
you know : it is a job and I do wish to make it a good one.

To rlrs StsrER. dVo. z Caeualty Clearlng Station
B.E.F.
3Voir. 7 I9I.-
I fecl better this morning, and this evening's rise in tem-
perature is very usual after all No symptom G hardly even a
head-ache except at rimes to-day. (  81 z" on a gramophone:
I must stop to listen : six months ago I should lave said I
was tired of it but when you've heard almost zo music sinc%
your heart goes out to it !) In fact» if it were hOt for tle
fact that one can't forger one's friends are still up yonder
and that one wonders what they're up to» and how long one



E. H. L.S. November  9  )" x )"
will be before getting going againapat from that as I
say» I'm hOt so badly off.

To THE ME¢THE NEw HOUSE. No. I z C.C.S.--
B.E.F.
November z9» 1915.
Men, [send on to the Man of the Island,' please.]
Lying here this moming with a fairly thick head and a,
tcmperature just high enough to convince me I'm hot the
most frightful skrimshanker in France (it takes some per-
suasion» that, when one feels well enough to read, and is in
a warm bcd» and it freezes outside» and the proper place for
one, the trencles, must be less comfortab!e !)--lying here,
as I said» l've been through all your lovely letters and con-
cluded once again that you were (this is a joke entirely of
Whitfield's, but I think it is rather a good one) of the
Good. quality stated in tbe margin. So I said to myself, ' I shall
write to those Men '.
I can't pretend that I'm hOt comçortable, because one's
looked airer in the most magnificent way here ; but I feel
very annoyed and, to be quite candid, a bit ashamed at going
down in this way. It would weigh less heavily on one» if
it weren't that tEe people in the trenches mnst be having
as beastly a rime at least as I had a week ago; for it's
freezing, and perhaps worse, and meanwhile one lies in bed.
--Oh well» I suppose l'Il be out soon. Besides, it's hOt
as if one mattered at all except for the look of the thing ;
one feels somehow that a sick o.fficer is always something in
the nature of a set-back.

This drivelling soliloquyto which I hadn't meant to
* The Isle of Sheppey.
I 



ll(J

E. H. L.S. November 19 I J"

treat you--is the sort ofthing I have thought to myself for
the past 68 hours, when not better employed : but 1 confess
that l've rather seized the opportunity to read a bit while
he, e. Partly about my job, but partly not ; and the latter
has been particularly good fun, for it "s almost the first rime
since Ap,-il! QEite certainly what reminded me, though,
that there were Men about, was yesterday evening, when 1
took up a book at al:out four o'clock, and round that it was
November, and lamp-lighting rime; rime to read, as it
might be at home, to the accompaniment ofells beyond m t,
window, and falling snow, and shadows on the wall. You
would bave liked those. Good-bye, Men. Tell C. A. A.
my news. l'm writing too, but don't think l'll repeat this
tircsome rigmarole again.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. B.E.F.
l.ed.,De¢. 8, 1915".
I have this moment been « returned to duty' from hos-
pital, where they treated me wonderfully well and I had
altogether too prosperous a rime. 1 was in bed rather a long
rime belote m t, temperature would go down, so I'm hot
tC¿ing frightfully strong ; however, we don't go into the
trenches till to-morrow night, b t, which rime I ought to be
all right.
Well, but what I was going to say was that on returning
I round Tke Patk awaiting me, and shouted for joy. Thank
you for a good man.
Well, there's no news, of course, as l've been away from
things. They've been strafing a bit though, I hear, and I
am very unhappy about m t, servant, an awfully nice youth,
who was killed by a whizz-bang while I was in hospital.
Love to all the Men.



E. H. L.S. December x 9 x Y x x 7

To M. G. WHITE.' B.E.F.
Thursday, Dec. 9, I9I ç.
We go to trenches again in z hours, so I can do no more
than acknowledge receipt of z letters.
I wonder where you'll corne, Man.
Now I take your train letter. Oh Man, those hills!
Yes, Man, I know.
cough dtlixture eoke. 2 Lack of sympathy.
irthur Benson's Essays. No joking matter.
Pragmatism. Ah" l'd forgotten, l've lost all my brains,
if I had any, so long now.
Book. Man, you're too good. I can't think at all now,
but I will. And you, Man : I ant very much to.lçnd some.
thingfor your kit. Write at once, Man, and say.what you'ld
like. Knobkerry (beastly but useful), compasses, map-
case ? Tell me. Awful rush, Man.
Love.
Man.

ToJ. F. C. RICHarDS. Thursday, Dec. 9» I9Iç"
Two Salopians arrived to-day, from l, ou and A. E. K. but
I was much interested to get your Commenta,-y on the
saine, shewing the various authors. I liked your editorial
very much. Oh yes, The Salopian is a link ; it is indeed!
'The sterner claires of war' take some forgetting at the
moment, for it is pouring in torrents and we go to the
trenches i, three hours (get there about i .o p.m.) after our
three days in reserve huts, under which we bave to-day
• The style ofthis letter is so typical ofits author, that (despite
its almost complete unintelligibility) its inclusion will ierhaps be
fo,'given.
2 See page 36.



  8 E.H.L.S. December 19 15"
been wonderfully comfortab!e, tain it never so violently
outside.
As I say, it takes some forgetting; but The 8alopian and
your letter (and those of some other friends) bave done it.
The Headmaster's  Dream ' I was very glad to read ; I
quite agree the poem especially is slolendid. Oh» Burge's
poem ! It is adorable, my dear, adoraMe. I love the metr%
too; it is so unusual "nd so enormously alive. Do tell
him 1 think it is quite definitely a tMng that has pleased
me more tban any poem l've read for ages and ages.
Bai!ey's  Rome" is an old friend : I thought (and think)
it is cnormously good, too.
I tl:ought the Sussex poem would be Routh's. 1 was
there, you know, at S«aford, and Heaven knows how I
thought of the hills every time the Downs tried to capture
me--though I could not have written clown my constant
thoughts so well! I liked the  Vale', too, very much. I
think Sir J. M. Barrie would have had somcthing to say, if
he had sçen that. Thomson is rather good at that sooE of
Jubilee Cup' gaine, l've a poem of his, rather on the
saine lines, in my book. P!ease tell Sanger 1 loved his
poem, too. You know, the fact is» you've produced a very,
very remarkable number, and I humbly offC my congratu-
lations !
F,TO rime for a line more, but thanks a tï.ousand rimes.

To HIS FATHER.
Dec. xl, I9I .
YOU see I can do you no melodrama; for a littI% little
whi!e I bave had what I think the greatest privilege one
• ' The Draft': published in Shrezwbu7 Fabl¢$.



E. H. L.S. December 191 "

119

could have--that of dcfending the most tCamous city of ail
tire% which will be sung of when Troy is an idle tale!
But even that privilcge bas been confincd to a quiet rime,
comparatively» and also a very sl:ovt one ; and it is all
over the heads, so to speak, of brave mert who really
did the things, and of whom every blade of grass and every

tree (though there are few standing) remind us as being
greatcr than their successors. Ah» you must believe two
things ; it's all very» very small beer, but vahe» out time cornes
to leave this country» we shall be proud and glad over to
bave been there !

To MRs. WHITFIELD. B.F..F. (In the TrencP.es.)
3aturday, Dec. I I, 191 ç.
Something very wicked ha happcncd. Three weeks
ago I got a chill in the trenches and was sent to hospital.
1 was very angry at this, being a little bit ashamed ofgoing
under to a ver), unmilitary kind of complaint like that.
So I said to myselÇ « I will not advertise this episode'
\Vell» naturally there was no news from such a place,
though when I got out of ted it was intcresting to
meet other convalescent officers and exchange talk, about
where various Divisions and attalions were, and so forth.
The trenches are in a ver), dreadful state, frightfully
wet, knee-deep in very man}, places» unusable in others (z
trench is regarded with disiavour when it gets more than
 thighwadcrs-depth'!), ind £a'ding in al1 over the place ;
but the men are wonderful. They are» I repeat it with the
most sincere reverence (there is no other word)WONDER-
VUL. They b.ave a dreadful time,esp«cially in soaked dug-outs
at nightwhere offic«rs generally gc t at least çairly dry ones
and do get more chance of a sleep, and no touch of di-ama
cornes along just now : they just stuck it. I adore them;
tl, ey are the people.



x 20 E.H.L.S. December x 9  Y

To R. F. BaILEY. B.E.F.
Boxlng .Day, 1915.
Christmas was a great day. We were serenaded, of
course, and we serenaded the C.O. in revenge. He was
delighted and ruade a speech in pyjamas on his doorstep,
and we killed a pig for the Company and ordered up
certain barrels and smokes which livened up things con-
siderably, especially during a terrific concert we had later.
There was, as far as I could hear, practically no firing
on Christmas Day. I think the Hun is rather susceptible
there, very rightly.
What a dull letter, though ! Sorry. It's the gas attack
which has caused it all.

To H. E. E. HOWSON. B.E.F.
1)ec. 7.7, IgI 5.
Ah ),es, the end of term. I know when you go, too, you
know. I too have my End-of-Terre Thinking. Last
rime it was on the Plain; now it is here. It is hot I who
could forget those things.
Man, as a loyer ofIan Hay I thought you might like First
oo,ooo and hope it's all right, l've sent it along.
Not Four 2rien this time (as 1 read it recently), I think,
tough it is very fine of you to offer it, and it would bave
done me grandly otherwise. Something small: I don't
know what. The Path is going magnificently. Bible in
8pain or something of that kind perhaps, Man, since you are
being so good.

To HrS FATHERo B.E.F.
New Year's Eve I9I '.
]t is the last night of a very memorable old year, and I
must hot miss the chance ofwishing you all a glorious new



E. H. L.S. January  9  6 12 I
one. 1 suppose it is a dreadfully selfish outlook on things
which makes me look on this as a happy one; but although
for so many it is necessarily an ' annus odiosus ', I can't
bring myself quite to see the necessity of those pcople
regarding it as such, who have such good reasons for look-
ing back on it with gratitude!
I'm very glad my little messages and cards reached you
on the day. Ah yes, Pearsall's « In dulci iubilo'; the most
memorable thing about any Service in Worcester Cathedral,
I think, when I first heard it three years ago. You can
guess whetlqer I and another lover of it have hummed it a
good deal at the time.

To R. A. Krox. B.E.F.
lXe¢w Tear's Eve, 1915.
The Man sent me a copy of Virgil yesterday» and I could
read the +th Eclogue within the Octave.
I was glad about that.

To H. E. E. Howsoi. B.E.F.
anuary 6, 1916.
The dear old Four dIen has arrivcd, and l've already got
to the Fugue. • Oh yes, but I was jolly glad to get it,
in spite of saying that I thought l'ld prefer something else.
It's a great book, but I agree now Tke Path is even better.
(Kitch sent me the I¢Z.B. 2 and I believe at last I under-
stand the final adjustment ; I used to find it very obscure.)
Thank you Man, very much.
Wiring at fifteen yards in front of Eosches last night,
M.G. opened on us several rimes; none hit. My O.C.
  The Fugue on the Inns of the World.'
 Tt»e IVrong Box.



.22

E..H, L.S. January  9  8

Coy. saved my lire and that of party by hearing the click of
M.G. just as they loaded and he got us all in just as the
tiare wcnt up and they fircd. Good.

To R. F. BalLEY.
yan. 9, I9x6"
Oh, Phiz, but I do like your book' enormously. It came
as the most comforting thing in the world to read this dear
man's letters. As I dare say you've gathered fiom m t, fran-
tic scrawl the other day, and from H. E. E. H., if you got
a hint of a narrow shave I had which l dcscribd in a note
to him I think I mat' really say we've had a taste of the
big gaine this time. Tl'e trenches we were wiring don't
really bear talking about. I doubt i_f anything quite like it
exists» now ; Bosches all round and behind» at bombing
range in places ; my escape was at fifteen yards one of hall
a dozen shaves with their M.G.'s. Next night ton bombs
(from craw]ers) within as many yards of me. Well well
but H6j sat in such places for 66 days out of 76 I remember
mperhaps her% for ail I know; and here are we having
four days" rest alternately.
Yes but it "s the book that rnatters and it is a glorious
antidote. I like the bit about the Personality of Railway
Stations; the Man of Sheerness would like that and
if any one wanted to do me a favour he would relieve
my Alpine 2 excitement by sending the Man a copy at once ;
I should be l-appier.

 Tbe Corne," o [-Lrley Street ; being ,oraefarailiar corrcpondence of
Peter Harding 2U. D.
= A word used by White in the sense that he had seen or
discovered something by himself» which he wanted to share with
others.



E. H. L.S. January I 9 1 6 I 2 3
It will be an awful scandal if they deplete the staf{ of
all the schools ; the thought of any one more going from
Shrewsbury moEkes me rather angry; I know it's rather
elfish, having escaped myself.
It would be different if the Hun wasn't in the saine
trench with us quite so much in this regiçn»--but I suppose
ur attractions for him ar very great.

To HI FATHER. B.E.F.
an. II, I916.
The lines we actualiy are to hold in our Çoy. are more
tolerable, but if ),ou could see some ofthose who came out
of another Çoy., holding what will be our right, ),ou would
realise thoEt the horrors wcre hot all confined to I9I+,
though I comfort myself day and night with the thought
that my betters went through far worse in most places
last year. But about me you must hOt be auxious, only
continue as I know you are : there is need .... H),mn z78, Z
isn't it ?

To H. E. E. HowsoN. B.E.F.
a.ltary l l, I916.
Man, if all's well, I'll be on leave Thursday'v.,ede. Please
find from Phiz whether he got my lettcr about trenches--
there secms to be doubt if it was l:Osted. I described
vaguely the evilness of the trenches we're in :--you might, if
you think it worth while, tell him how we were nearly done
in ; I told him about the next night, when I had ton bombs
within ten yards. Good. A shell-hole is a very good place,

for a laith that will not shrink,
Though press'd by many a foe.'



24 E.H.L.S. January 96
at rimes. (About rive, I think ; but you rnay guess I didn't
stop to count! Goo.4 opportunity for a little swank went
begging there : supposing I had pulled out a notebook and
said» ¢ Let me see, this is No. 4 close shave, Sgt. Joyce :-
but allow me to suggest your right ear is needlessly near
the edge . . .' Somehow one doesn't think of these things
in rime !)

To H. E. E. Howsol. B.E.F.
eanuary t 3,  9 I6.
Lcav% Thursday zoth. l've written to the Man : do urge
him he rcally must corne any rime during the following
week. Als% Man» we ought (oughtn't we ?) to din% and
possibly even run, as tradition demands.
Not so bad» I do think.

To HIS FATHER. B.E.F.
eanuary Iç, I916.
You don't need telling how grateful I ara for your dear
ktter.

1 know ...... I know . . .
So you thought of me during the singing of it ? And
perhaps I wondered, as I often do at unaccountable mo-
ments, at the passing of the cloud, even while you thought.
Naturally it would pass, so.

* «Cast thy burden upon the Lord."



E. H. L.S. January x 9 x 6 x z
To H. E. E. HowsoN. 147orcester.
)tanuary OES, 1916.
.a¢ar_pessa.* I suppose there is a ftaw somewhere, too
much of" what H. B. = might call ' agglutinative'- I mean
that he seems to rake in with both hands ail the first loves
of the second-rate enthusiast in the way ofpoetical beauties
from ail authors and languages, and pire them up with
sort of ' There ! that "s your idea, and now it's ail on paper
to the open-mouthed reader.
That may be all excellently well, as Simon Hartley said-
but years ago I climbed a passionate heap 3 over this thing,
and this morning I have done it again. It is right you
should know.

To MRS. WHITFIELD. On the train (returnlng lVrom leave).
anuary z6, I916.
May I lope two tlfings ? One, that the little coat may
arrivemit has been so welcome. But far more important
that you will go on writhag. I don't deserve much, I know,
but you cannot imagine how I welcome your letters when
they arrive. This is quite literally true. I myself should
hot bave thought it possikle that one could be so helped
along by any letters as I have been by yours ; and this you
must please believe.

To MRS. WHITFIELD. B.E.F. agaln, and a dug-out,
rather a good one.
anuary "9  9 I6"
As you can imagine, Worcester, that quiet old Cathedral
City, seemed rather an incredible change from the trenches ;
* By Stephen Phillips. = Hilaire Belloc.
» The Men used offert to speak of  climbing a mudheap' over
a thing about which they were enthusiastic.



1,_.6 E.H.L.S. January 1916

and yet hot nearly so much somand this applies to Shrews-
bury too--as it did when I took 48 hours" leave just belote
coming out. I suppose one deadens fancies out here.
However, this is business, and I must get to it. No
heart-aches will keep my dcar friend the Hun at arm's length,
and the sooner they are dropped the botter (which is very
easily said !).
Well, well . . .

DIARY

Novemer OE, 1915.
It was time I went. Thc rain sp:ashed gloriously in my
face as I came out of our ]ittle farm at dusk, where a fea,
minutes ago we had actually dared to be grumbling.  Now,'
I said, clenching my fists and gesticulating with bitten lip,
 aN'0va that is al] over, and things are going to happen." . . .
« Orate pro anima mea," I said :  Orate pro anima mea . . .
and particularly Hôj,' I added, for I suppose the meanest
so!dier God ever ruade has some ideal leader of his own.
So I we,t on in the pouring rain and the mud. It was
quite obvious which tuming I should take at the corner of
the lane that leads from our hom% and within a few minutes
I was in the village and at its farther end. The white face
of the church clock stared at me with a strange surprise as
I stroe past. That', I answered, ' only shews again
that you do hot quite understand. It will be all right, but
there are things to be done first.' So I passed flore the
village, and the slow, limping piquet was soon left far
behind. It was now but a few hundred yards to the end of
my pilgrimage, which as you may guess was obviously the
fi-ontier. It seemed a pity to bave to strafe the sentry for
being too easily content at a great distance with my mono-



E. H. L.S. November 19 1 )" I : 7
syllabic reply to his challenge. Did thcy mind, Those
Others? I wondered if each nudged his neighbour-- c See
how one is angry because they receive so easily, on this
Night of ail others, his Voice from the night, claiming
that he is a friend!' But I left that business, for 1 had
al"rived. He;-e was my goal, and here I halted on the litte
bridge over the tiny border stream, and fingering the German
lXTewTestament in my pocket I remembe1"ed many countries.
clt is all right now,' I said - « all the co,'ners ofthe earth . . .
Ah yes,'I added, disdaining ail mild faithless ubjunc-
tives, « to-night, I most deeply believe, Omnis Spirltus Lal«dat
Domlnum." Back, thon, from the frontier ; back to France
and the little village church ; and this time with a haste, as
though to make amends, I went in. [t was absolutely dark,
except for one tiny candle by the altar at the far end ; and
I was not sorry when the end of my stumbling came and I
reached my goal, especial ly when the deor opened and closcd
when I had gone half-way.  lXTever mind,' I thought : « it
might be Hôj, corne in reply to my greeting.' So I arrived,
having stepped on all the happier for that. And there at
last [ came ; and there, while the door opened and shut
again and again with the most encom-aging pe:sistence
remembered Them and their Deeds and my own endless
needs, in the language that for lmndreds lnd hundreds of
years has fought to oblitcrate all the frontiers and all the
doubt, the most holy language of Rome.
It is very late now, beloved Men.' Since writing that,
I bave gone to the window and looked into the night ; I
have seen the distant star-shells and heard the distant guns.
« Ruht in Frieen,' I murmured, c and forget te strafing :
it is Ail Souls' Day.'
Good night, t'.e Men. It is a Magnificent World.
I What is written above was sent hy him to the New House.



 28 E.H.L.S. November  9  Y

Nooemer  8, 19  5.
The l/l.ralk to Potye. It was pelting with rain when I
started at about 3-° or so. As I got on I soon became quite
happy, as is one's way in a &luge when moving and dressed
for the part ; and I do not think the guide minded, as
much as some would have, the fact of his being pulled out
of his dug-out on such a day, We came across the fields
half-right, as tl.e cross-road was marked not to be used, by
the Artillery, I think, who as usual do not want any fiat-
footed Infantry paddling ound theirwar-hives. At the edge
of the wood I let my guide go home; and passing many
dozen bottoms of shell-cases, I got an Artillery-man to take
me to the ith Essex H.Q., where a couple ofofficers from
their M.G. section offered to shew me were the E. Yoïks
were. Itis curious, how 1 ara beginning tothink I enjoyed
that aftemoon; the idea is obviously absurd--0¢ 8 roc
«O&ra I,l, Vî«O« r[vo:v, I suppose  still it had enough ofthe
ridiculous in it to make it just worth remembering.
The Plai»tive Gunuer. Were I ten rimes more than a mere
subaltern I do not think I should have the impudence to
strafe the gunners ; but here was an R.F.A. subaltern to-
night getting quite heated on the subject of Infantry and
Artillery. What he objects to most seems fo be the shyness
with which certain Battalions in part of Hill 6o, where he
is view an occasional short-bursting shell as judged by the
language in which they protest against it. Probably the
best thing to have done would have been to agree that the
Infantry should welcome an occasional surprise of this kind,
on the ground that itis all healthy experiment with a view to
strafing the Hun. But unluckilysome of us tried argument-
 Would he not be very indignant if the short shell were hot
announced to the gunners " l,ike the don confronted with



E. H. L.S. December 9  f 29

the goat he was bound to admit that it was so'; but
[ doubt if it really soothed him. The result in his battery
is that they never tire at the Hun first line at all, as they
reckon it is hot worth while risking thc inevitable accidents
from wrong fuses and wet ammunition.
Well, I ara glad to think l've never complained, not
having had ashort shell down my neck; but I can sympathise
with both parties.

Dec. IgI f.
AIore oflffo. ŒE C.C.S. It was rather intcresting, as there
were always officers from ditkerent stations coming in.
The authorities were very generous, I must say ; we were
excel]ently fed, and night after night there would be red
and white win% whisky and brandy, on the table. No
great inroads however were ever ruade on these, as no one
felt up to it. One night I played Auction (with tb.e usual
fool's success) with two very nice R.A.M.C. men and
a man from the Oxfords. I once redoubled three Royals
and ruade them.
I read The Fair Maid off Perth there. I also read Barrie's
book which contained the original story of Peter Pan, t?om
which the play grew. I suppose no one ever understood
children like that : the guessed success of the bachelor with
children without their parents standing by, the tt rrific
solemnity of small boys in great coats--these are grandly
done.
Bells, always bells, from the big church over tle way.
It was not very far £rom home being there. Bells of Lich-
field, Eton, Newcastle, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Worcester ;
the little bells of the Plain ; ail these could be heard clearly
as I la}, listening to their raie.
Strange how soon one gets back at least some strengtl0.



3 o E.H.L.S. December xgx)"
My first walk of one toile at H. was very exhausting; I
sat on a road-side seat hall blind ! Within two or three days
I was in the lines, walking all day.
The December elflternoons. There were those at H. ; when
one Iooked at the Xmas toy-shop and the dolls' tea-sets
(I remcmbered with a curious rush the way the little cups
would fit into the cardboard, ycars ago), and the evening
came over the shops, and the lights, and me, and it was
rime to corne in to tea like a good boy.

an. 3, I916"
This morning thcre is nothing doing but cleaning» and
wc sha|l bave an inspection in an hour or so. But what 1
wantcd to say was :--
Why bave I hot discovered a lovel¥ thing by R. L. S.
belote? It is in The Open Road (page 24z); In the High-
lands.' I bave it on the table now.
But oh, the militaty mind! I had read through once,
delighted, and half-way through again, when for no reason
I murmured to Winkley,  You know thc way to inspect
Tube Helmets is to bave them in here man by man» and
avoid waiting and exposure in the air ! '
And this, although, so far from being tempted by in-
difference to think of othcr things, I was definitely excitcd
about the potin. We are a strange people.

T'wo Heavy Pages. an. I z 1916.
Books, during ail this period,l/Frong Box and a thing
called Ed'wards, by Barry Pain, a book about a London
gardener, painting him in none too honest colours» and
coloured for me throughout by trenches and knife-rests, as
is the way of printed marrer to men in a grave situation.



E.H.L.S. January tgt6 3t
Who that bas ever been through anything even the hours
before an mximportant race, does hot know how he reads,
not the pages before him, but something he dislikes the
prospect of, across them all ? Of course this prospect
business is played out fairly soon, I hope and believe, and
ara beginning to find ; but knife-rests, due saine evening at
 ç and z5 yds. from the Hun in biggish numbers (a dozen
or so) do corne iato one's mind when they shouldn't; and
this would hOt be an honest entry if it tried to drown the
fact in any heroics !
Before dismising the subject of this idle contemplation
of danger it would be rash hot to remember two things it
I think, begets ; one is a quite physical emotion towards,
and almost clinging to, inanimate objects; the other is the
passionate acqiiescence in low countries. Whether this
latter be due to the fact that the eye gulps greedil)' at large
vistas of scenes it ma), possibl), be like to lose I do hot
know; but I can understand quite well now from its
complete absence when at rest among the lowlands how
the contrary is true of mountains and how dread is said to
lurk in high places. Yes! I suppose we bave had a taste
of what Belloc calls 'the great emotions'. But I am at
last quite conscious of what really happens ; one introduces
an almost palpable lur. The great-hearted ones probably
do hOt do this: they pull out their skeleton and defy him»
and rather look forward than otherwise to explorations
among his uncharted bones. For myself I ara perfectly
clcar ; I do hot exactly reverse my chair, and I pray devoutly
I may hot wart to Icave his company. But I think he is
just left out, hot even waved aside--I ara a total stranger
to any melodramatic ' steeling ' and ail the rest of the room
grows more and more adorable in detail just because he too
is there. It is a curious world.
K •



   E.H.L.S. January  9  6
Well» but I am coming to the Nox dlirabilis,* Wednesday,
Jan. 7. And I do hot think I need describe it here. The
pose of the  strong silent man" (which I and J. P. D. have
decided is the one to gull the gaping civilian !) may be all
very we]l, but I hardly expect the story of this night
will go altogether unremembered or unrepeated. Besides,
it is J. A. M.,  hot I who is the hero of the piece.

H/'ed., an. 9.-.o p.m. preclsely.
An entirely idle, and I am afraid grossly lovable, day,
on which my memory will dwell with wlat is known, I
believe, as loving particu]arity. To be exact, I am sitting
on a rather hard concern of boards, thinly disguised in a
layer of water-proof sheet and man), sand-bags underneath
me ; another sheet excludes the sunlight, all but a couple
of long beams down which play a remarkable assortment of
smoke wreaths. For in my mouth is an enormous cigar,
the gift of J. P. D» of terrific prosperity; round my shoulders
is my British Warm ; I ara well shaved, I think, but other-
wise content to be in a comfortable assurance of the need
ofthe soon expected bath. Over my right shoulder protrudes
from the wall of the dug-out a stick supporting a candle ;
aeroplanes buzz overhead, and two or three silIy nations
are squandering ammunition by the ton upon them; the
Hun furiously strafes the French support lines, and out
guns reply occasional]y. Every now and then a M.G.
wakes up and pushes in half a belt, as our M.G. Officer
bas it ; and in an hour the three aforesaid foolish nations
will have their front lines standing to'. I am quite
t This refers to the night when he had a narrow escape fiom a
German machine-gun.
 J. A. Merewether, his Company Commander.



E. H. L.S. January 96 33
warm for once. I think I ara making my entry with
a rare amount of detailed precision ; it is unlikely that
for some rime  I shall be removed'; and I am going on
leave (with Chester as companion, too) precisely at +.3o a.m.
to-morrow.
Leave! I am heartily glad I took the steps I did -bout
it ; £or anyhow I ara afraid the standard required for it is
n0t reached (!)» nor approached» even in these our days.
Terribly  deteriora sequor '; but better, even s% than cease
even  videre meliora '. Anyhow, I am going, and for the
present it is delightful to promise great things ; especially
those great things which have absolutely no objective
importance, perhaps. Thus» shoald I  get my civvy clothes
on ' ? I think yes ! It is a sort of proud little prerogative
of people back from the Front especially, though it is oten
done at home by some, but hOt by me till we came out.
think ),es; it should make more of a real holiday, and
though Heaven knows l've done nothing, I can do with
a change perhaps.  Spats, too,' as Michael said. And
evening dress, no doubt. And gaines of cards in the
evening ; and then probably a smoke with father and a talk
over Big Things. Exercise--I must bave that ; I ara still
not quite strong after my chill  perhaps I shall run down
to the Lock and back as of old. And hot too much to eat,
while hOt so active, and in a house.
Books too; imagine if I could really do something to
clear the air in The Large Matter in a week ! The life of a
student, when alone ; shall I go back to that for an hour
or two, with pens and paper and volumes round me ? This
could only be very early and very late, of course, with the
old Cathedral to point the way. But though it is good fun
to put these/ittle more material matters first, there remains
Home, and that is where I go. Home, and to my aih



r34 E.H.L.S. February 9r6
folk» whom I seem to know now better than ever beforc ....
And about that I do hot think I should write profanel).

14Zed.» Feb. z.
Elverdinghe Farm. Let us begin with the last good thing,
which was any time after o.o a.m. to-day. As usual, I took
my short airing down the road past the French, saluting
and nodding like fhn ; there is hot enough of that business.
It bas never tçailed to be the adorable time of the da),, but
to-day, after a certain amount of f:airly real misery (in F 30 '
[real F]), I strode down that road inhaling the air of the
universe, and even I counted my breaths, fifteen yards at
a time!

Feb. 3» 916"
The afternoon was peaceful again and thank God I have
heard the sad songs of the British inçantry proceeding from
the barn betokening that my much over-worked men are
happy. They bave had the devil of a tim% and no sympathy
from H.  tbr they are put on working parties at once.
At about 3.3 ° I began writing and continued till after
.]o. First orders br relief came along, and I spent timc
drawing a plan of thc front line and Canal Bank.
7.30 p.m. Glorious chorus of  Good-by% Virginia" from
room of officers' servants next door; it muæt be the young
Davis (it was)» who delighted me so enormously on Xmas
Day at Houtkerquc. I can't stop myself from wanting to
listen .... Ver), excellent indced ; it has ruade a great
differcnce, thank you!
The three following nights werc rcmarkable for the
colossal work put in by D Coy. I shall never forger the

' A trench.



E. H.L.S. February 96 -
vigour theï put into thc work on the night of the ŒEEth t'fore
o.3o to tz.3o. We should bave begun at 9.0» but the
sand-bags and shovels were late in arriving from R.E.
or wherever it was; and l had told them, the barder the},
worked, the sooner the second relief would get home.
Result-- ç men tïlled about çoo sand-bags in z. hours and
laid several hundred of them. Theï worked like fiends.
It takes men with the real thing in them, to work for thcir
successors like that ; and» please God» that is going tobe truc
of all out work in those trenchcs ! This is a fkct that must
hot be forgotten. |t had the real unseltïsh l-ing about it.
lfternoon. The gramophone in t,e barn with the Com-
panï ; an idea or" mine which pleased them a bit, ! think.
We sat listening to the Plantation Mcdleïs and H. Lauder
songs» etc» while the shells strafed thc village, and the blue
skï pierced through the roof. It was worth doing.



CHAPTER V

OCrOBER X 91  TO FEBRUAIY 1916
DURING this time White was still at work with his
Battalion at Sheerness» often in command of a Company.
His spare hours he gave to music, reading, and the organ-
isation of gaines and entertainments for the rnen. He
was away on leave from rime to rime  on December ŒE he
came to spend a long week-end at Shrewsbury. Southwell
and he met once (for a few hours)in London, but that
was ail.
He was on leave at Radlett with his sister when the
telegram came ordering him to France. And on the
£ollowing day (February 7) he went to Southampton. This
is what he wrote during this period :--

DIARY

October I+, 1 91 .
Hollingbourne with Buxton and Russell-Smith. A
wonderful day of Autumn. There was a forge at Holling-
bourne, and the sparks ttew upwards. In the train on the
way home I read the two greatest short poems in the
language (steady !); the Ode on a Grecian Urn, and the Ode
to lutumn.
)tan. z6, 1916.
Met the Man in London on the way back to the Front
after leave. He had wanted me to go to meet him at
Shrewsbury, but I said I could not go there at present»
for (1) practical reasons, (z) psychological reasons  as I had
decided not to go again till I had been out.



M. G.W. October x 9 x y x 3 7

LETTERS

To THé. M.b:--THE NEw Hovs.. Radlett.
Octo/er z, 191 .
I have to report that I saw the Man off from Charing
Cross this morning in good health and good spirits,
and gloriously himself.
Read plcase» Boon, by  Reginald Bliss' (H. G. Wells),
for turns and deep thinking mixed (Virgil).
Oh, Man! Wales was good.
l've just been talking to a remarkably clever man.
He came from the Man's Battalion, and the Man wired to
me this : ' Make early acquaintance of latest arrival from
here very delightful sadly * anti-Eensonian."

To C. A. ALINGTON. Radlett.
Octoer z» I 9 I ç.
I spcnt last night with Southwell, and saw him off this
morning early from Charing Cross, just too early for him
to receive the poems,' which I found on returning to the
Hotel at I I
He was very much himself and awfuly concerned as to
the items of kit which he ought to take, and wishing there
was an order to take no kit. We spent an hour in chemists"
shops last evening, while Southwell examined the chemists
about anti-vermin powders, believing all their ver/various
suggestions and acting on most of them.
Finally it required three taxis to get to Charing Cross,
not due to the size of his luggage but to a general lack of
organisation in the departure.
 Southwell was fond of A. C. Benson's books. - « V. .'



I38

M. G.W. October t 9 t,

It is not fair that 1 should have to see him offand hot go
with him.
I think 1 told you that the Colonel is not letting me go
out just yet, by reason of my morc advanced age, and
the shortagc in our Battalion of officers over twenty years.
It is a nuisance, l'm all for the Front, now Southwcll has
gone, and also kindred spirits at Sheerness are going.

To A. E. klTCHIN. The Hill-top--Radlett.
Oct. % I91 ç.
Scc my remarks about the Man to C. A.A. He ,was
worried about his kit. How many Morphia tablets should
he take? If they wcre so useful, why not hundrcds of
them ? Whether sulphur was really any good against lice ?
Wouldn't it fall off the clothes as soon as it was put on ?
Ec. etc. Hc couldn't think of much else.
I told him about those steel plate mirrors--you know the
thingsmand we discussed their efficacy against glancing
bullets, etc. ; and finally, when I asked him if ho wanted me
to send anything out to him, he seemed to think these
wcrc good things (though he'Id bc quite content, if some
onc ordcrcd him hot to bave them). Anyhow, he said 1
might as well send him out four.

To CANON SOUTHWELL. Sheerness.
October IO 19I .
l must write a line in answer to tbe very kind letters
which you and Mrs. Southwell bave written to me.
As you will easily realise, tlere has been no departure
for the Front which I bave felt so keenly as Evelyn's. I
always think (and sometimes say) tbat there has never been
anything quite like the lire which our common housebold



M.G.W. October lgtf i39
has lived at Shrewsbury these rive years» with its intimacies,
enthusiasms, and mutual appreciations. Whitfield was
saying the other day, what has been thought by so many
who knew him, that Evelyn's soldiering is one ofthe finest
sacrifices of this war, undertakcn in spire of his character-
istic distaste for all, or a great deal, that it involves.
I hope to hear good uews of h im very soon.

To H. E. E. Howsoi,/. Sheerness.
Octoer 19 1 J.
Autumn is being good in lient» when I sec it.

To R. F. AILEYo Sheer»es.
October z I » t 9  "
I fcel cducation lnUSt be an intcresting business now.
E. g. Democrac)', Frcedom of Prcss, Empirc» etc. etc.
I ara worried about the ize of the world. A Rhodesian
startcd talking about South Africa last evcning, and I
thought, « Good God ! South Africa has never corne into my
vision at ail. l've always rathcr rcgrettcd ail those colonial
places. But thcy have to be considered too. It "s awful!"
Schoolmasters are always either trying to make acsthetes
out of Philistines (the Adjurant has just corne in and said
that three were to go « out' now» and those three includc
two of the best people hcrcdamn !) or Philistines out of
Prigs. The Prig so often has the foot of goodness in him,
and we deal with it so unsympathetically ! (This is hot a
sermon to you ; only» being now  a soldicr, 1 speak dog-
matically.) I should have becn so much better a person, if
my seventeen-year-old aestheticism had been kindlicr dcalt
with ; if I had been shewn why it was wrong, i. e. because it



14o

M. G.W. October i9 i)-

was not real» not because it was not manly or some such
thing ; if I had been shewn where my violin practice lay in
the scheme of things ; how it was good and therefore most
necessary to look at it in the right perspective.

To A. E. KITCHIN. 8heerness.
Oct. z% 1915.
l've just put up on the Mess Notice Ioard the following •
LOST
Who has borrowed from an Alldays Allon Motor Cycle
a pump ?
Please fill in.
(Naine) Captain
Lieut.

.nd Lieut.

' It is calculated to abrd the very highest amusement.'
We are playing Rugger amid general enthusiasm at
present. We beat 5th K.R.R. to-day fairly easily. I
couldn't play» as I twistcd my ankle in a gaine yesterday.
I'm in rather good form this year.
l've heard some great music at week-ends lately at
Q,9_een's Hall.
Kent was very lovely when I visited it last on various
o:casions with Russell-Smith, Buxton, and West.
Thougbt. l've read some poetry ; good old things like
Kcats' Odes, etc. l've been arguing against pure Conser-
vatism with the Adjurant and Captain Edwards, and have
given the latter Galsworthy's Strife, Silver Box» etc. to read.
I'm also getting thcm to read Lowes Dickinson's lfter
the 14,'af. As to the WAR» l've been so taken up with the



M. G.W. November  9 t)" t 4t
problems of its direction that l've hardly thought about
its essential justice. I'm just where I am.
I think perhaps that you base your own undoubtedly
powerful arguments for Christianity and Peace too much
on the hopelessly compromising and inconsistently weak
attitude of most parsons and that you do not work enough
on a priori reasoning.  don't think you've ever really
refuted the man who says c Yes but we are improving
slowly ". You have only proved the Unchristianity in him.
I ara always hovering round the opinion that there is a
World-Mind gradually growing.stronger and more reason-
able through and in spite of its various forms of commerce»
armaments competition etc. ; and that a sudden violent
renunciation (as suggested by « literal" Christianity) would
be an aberration of that Mind» just as the War is an
aberration.
[Read Boo» by R. Bliss. (Really H. G. Wells.)]
Of course that is hot Christianity» at least I'm afraid not.
No--damn it! It isn't.
Many thanks again for sending The Saloplan always very
welcome ; it arrived to-day.

To TtaE MEIq-THE NEw HotrsE.* Sheerness.
October z6» 191 .
['m sorry to note that we're no better than we used to be.
-- JERSEYS --
A Man.

To A. E. KITCHIN. 6th R.B.Sheerness.
N0v. 9, I915"
Just a line. Thanks very much for The Salopian. It is
very good of you to send it ; continuez donc. I was at
' Following a neglected appeal for football jerseys.



142 M.G.W. November  9  !"
Repton last Saturday with a 6th R.B. XI--hopelessly
beaten. I did a thorough subaltern turn in town on the
way up with the test of this party. Dinner at the Elysée,
fbllowed by The ozly Girl. I enjoyed the whole expedition
moderately only, with the exception of The Only Girl, which
I likcd very nltlch.
Saturday night and Sunday I was at the Musical Club.
Sunday--Temple Church, stroll round the Temple, Heet
Strcct, Cheshire Che«se, and Russian concert at Aibert
Hall.
I hopc to bc on the list * soon, and when 1 ara, ! shall get
long leave and put in a night or two at Shrewsburï.

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Sheerness.
November 15, 95.
Ycs, I will corne soon, but hOt this week-end. Also I ara
quite ready to cxclude Advent Sunday, the z7th , but I wish
ïou hadn't mentioned the fact that it was Advent Sunday.
I thought of muddy roads, darkening chapel windows, the
tire-side, and « For behold, Darkness '. Man, I got strum-
ming that lovcly Bach Sonata last night, thc one in which
the piano starts stcadi]y and expectantly :m

x Of Oflqcers liable to be sent to the Front at short notice.



M.G.W. November 9y 43

and thc violin :--

You know. To-day l've round a pianist and we arc going
to play it to-night. Ye% there is a good deal to attract
me to S. on Advent Sunday ; good hymns too, probably,
in Chapel. Howcver, l'Il corne later, perhaps, if it suits
),ou better. Anyhow l'III going to get up on Thursday and
corne fol" a Field Day. If I did corne for the z7th  I should
bave to appl), this Wednesday, anyhow. (l'm using the
word ' anyhow ' a lot.)
l'm glad ),ou've been to Rome • again» Man. That is
good. I shall hover round the Jura when I corne, I make
no doubt.
Oh! look. A son of Prof. Sorley, who was at K.C. 
Choir School under me, was killcd recently in France ; lac
had left Marlborough last summer, and secms to have
developcd into a remarkable person. I have got hold of
three pocms of his. I haven't rime to write it all out,
so on second thoughts l'Il bring them to Shrewsbury
some da),.
When I coin% please have the Field Da), vaest or south
of Shrewsbury. One of the good old spots, like Betton,
Sharpstones, or Stretton, or Upper Edgebold--I mean
UPPER EDGEBOLD. 3
I must write again to the Man. 1 ara bad about writing
to France.

' By reading The P.ttb to lkomt.
 King's College, Cambridge.
s As the names of places are written in military reports.



44 M.G.W. December  9  "

To Tn. MENTHE NEW Hovs..

This is not very good about my :--
i. Captain Comfy pipe,
ii. Haversack,
iii. Kitch Snapshots ; 
because they absolutely must (with possible exception of i.
[Why do you use phrases like « the possible exception',
' mot cliché ', and ail that?]) be in the bouse somewhere.
i and il are pair of my kit, and iii is moral kit. The
appeal ad miserlcordiam. But, I repeat, that stuff is in the
New House somewhere.
l have written the outline of a melodrama about the
Kaiser imprisoned on the island of Sheppey six months
after the War, guarded by 6th R.B. It will be performed
in the S. Hippodrome on Christmas Day; topical, and
 depends largely for its success upon facial expression'
The N.C.O.'s and riflemen comedians, who are acting,
file in with turns of their own, which are clever, but also
noisy and spinal, and there is a good deal of wedding guest
about the whole thing, on my part.
You had a sing-song last night, I make no doubt. Also
you are correcting papers and drinking soups with A. E. K.
at z.io a.m.

To H. E. E. Howso. 8heerness.
Decem3er z3, 9-
Manumy love, and a reminder of the singing of ' The
Holly and the Ivy' in the Man's cold room  that rime.
A happy Christmas.

' Photographs taken by A. E. K. ofthe School Corps on Caradoc
at Church Stretton.
= Just after the end ofone Winter terre, before Christmas.



M. G.W. December i9iy i4y

To H. E. E. Howsoi. 8keerness.
December z7,
I had the strangest Christmas Day. Most of it spent in
the Sheerness Hippodrome, where I was part author and
stage manager

A GRAND REVUE

B IFF AND BAFF

with a chorus of

COMPANY COMEDIENNES

(thus the poster);
which we rehearsed ail day for an evening's entertainment
to the Bat-talion and their billet landladies. Some good
comic men in the Battalion last evening.
I went to the dock-yard church with Routh, and we had
_/ldeste Fideles, but in English.
Steuart Wilson and I went to hear Sapellnikoffyesterday
in that saine Hippodrome, and a woman sang the worst
songs in Europe.
 Once in an old-vorld English country town,
' I met a maid
' Govaned in brown ;
' It quite entvanced her loveliness."
The notes were rather worse than the words, but it ended
with a change of key and on a top A» so we ail applauded
loudly and shivered, and I took in my Sam Browne belt one.
I am well into I4ar and Peace (L. Tolstoy)--it was ver),
heavy going at first, but I ara now excited about it.



x4a M.G.W. January xgxa
To H. E. E. Howsol. Sheerness.
anuary xI I916.
Route match this morning. At the head of the column
I with a heavy pack argued solidlt all the wa)" round about
respectability and Christianity ind church-going, and what
a gentleman is etc. etc.
Thank Kitch for his letter. Of course I bave read all
Barry. * It is a wonderful book.

To HIS SISTER AND BROTHER-IN-LAW. 8heerness.
anuary z+,  I916.
Thank you both very much for your greetingç to-day.
Yes» l've had a good day» thank you ; listened to the hand
all morning, and chose and criticised pieces for performance
at Mess to-night, was a hare in a paper-chase this ifternoon,
was caught by a swKt sergeant after plunging through dyke
after dyke, had a good hot bath afterwards, and ara feeling
fit, and propose (war or no war) to depart from my usual
abstention and drink intoxicating Iiquor at dinner.

 l(çligion and ti« V¢tar» by the Rev. F. R. Barry.
 His birthday.



CHAPTE
E H. L. S.

VI

FEBRUARY TO JULY 916

SooN after returning /rom leave, and on the day after
White reached France, Southwell was transferred from D
Company to take command of C Company. This was on
Febmary o, and on the .oth the Battalion moved south
from Belgium into France, moving b t, train to Halloy (where
Southwell speaks of a great ride to get a football for his
men), and then, by Occoches and Grand Rullecourt» to
Sombrin and Simencourt, where he was again in the
trenches. During this journey south he met White near
Canaples.
On March z a senior officer, Capt. Barclay, took over
the command of C Company, though not for long. On
April   Southwell started for England, but on reaching
Boulogne tbund that all leave was cancelled, and had to
return. On April OEo he regained the command of his
Company, as Capt. Barclay was transferred to the st
Battalion ; and it was about this time that Southwell was
gazetted Captain.
On May ÷ he was home on leave, and spent a dag
at Shrewsbury. This is taken from a letter written about
him after his death :
' He was (as if by intuition) a « discerner of spirits ".
But (most impressive of ail) he was strictly impartial. He
never allowed one love to interfere with the claires of

L z



x 48 EH.L.S. February  9  6
another. An instance of this occurred during his last
leave. He left his parents during what might (and actually
did) prove to be his last leave» in order that he might go
to Shrewsbury and see young Blakeway who was ill.
It was the saine during the months of his training on
Salisburlt Plain. He was always going somewhere to see
some one (often at a great distance) who he thought would
wish to see him."
After his leave he returned to the saine part of the line
where he mentions little of military interest except a
gas alarm» on May .o. From this rime onwards his letters
and diaries are full ofthe coming of Summer. OnJune I I
Capt. H. W. Garto% a fellow Etonian with whose
brother he had rowed at Oxford rejoined the Battalion» and
again Southwell lost the command of the Company to a
senior officer. For a rime he was at the x4th Divisional
School of Instruction at Hautevill% and then returned
to the Battalion.
On July  White was killed in an attack belote Mailly-
Maillet.
The story continues in Southwell's own words :

DIARY

$omkrin. Tuesday, Fel,. ?'9"
We found we had qttite a good Mess room in one bous%
with a kitchen on right ; beyond that, barn» with Officcrs'
servants and some A.S.C. L. of that, bed-room used as
sitting-room by A.S.C. and Oflïcers' servants by day.
L.» black wood mantelpiec% plates» crucifix» and scent-
bottles. Beneath it, recess for a store, but no tire there;
still it was hot cold. Opposite the usual bisected stable
door» light wood side-board  placard  Fête Nationale de



E. H.L.S. March 96 49
Jeanne d'Arc" (when is that?), copy of the ' Angelus';
left of that, big coloured plate of French uniforms, sur-
mounted b t, France in chariot with two lions--' Triomphe
de la Rép: Française'. R. ofthat, barometer. L. Centre,
table, spotlessy clean, and with the inevitable oil-cloth.
R. wall, dresser with out gramophonei ' Souvenir de la
Mission de igz" (obscure, these missions).
That afternoon we had a very successful outing ; the
only Compan]z that went out, I thinl(. Ai three I marched
and doublcd them out ofthe village  up the bill ; round an
oblong field on right ; easy ; into ncxt field. Short speech
on fitness by me in three lines  physical exercises ; doubled
that field also. Rapid match down road ¼ toile more and
back pretty smartly (about I4Z ).
In the evening entered Lewis gunners on Company
Roll and wrote to them.
After that we listened to our gramophone and records
we borrow from Irving. The chier features 1 have alreadï
mentioned ; but to my huge delight Polgreen (B), who
messed with us, brought his album with 8chuert's Unflnished
çuartet, and I remembered the QEinby' evenings and my
dIen. That was very good.

,çomri. 14ed., dVlarch I 1 1916.
Procession of boats  to-day, I wonder? It is fifteen
years since I took part in my first, and a few things
bave happened since then.
This was one of the mornings when the C.S.M. and
I agreed that after the War there would be a few funny

 A friend with whom there used to be Chamber-Music at
Shrewsbury on Saturday nights, White taking iart.
- At Eton.



I-o E.H.L.S. Match 1916
things to look back upon. There was a lot of shuffling
about of  1' and  C ' on the road» to the side of out real
road» but the one on which we were drawn up waiting
to join lhe colunan. We went down it sonae way» and
helped» and turned about. Then ' B' came» of course
through tlousands of lorres» all anyhow. So we had to
shift down. Too far. lack. Not far enough. 8ack.
About turn. Found old "t3 ' with its  second front section
ofti3urs marking rime like good "uns» and nobody else giving
a damn "» as I observed to the C.S.M.
However» we did get going then, and had a pr«tty good
match. Very cold» but fresh» and no one was very tired.
It renainds nae that one does hOt ordinarily renaain as strong
as one was belote conaing out--or soit seenas to nae.
I naay be wrong» but I should say that I felt an eight nailes'
naarch naore than I used to on the Plain. Of course»
though» I have been ill since then, and also probably smoked
too much; and I expect one is really no weaker in
oneself.
As I was saying» I ara afraid one becomes rather a
beast of burden on these treks. I was absolutely happy» I
think, on the whole of thena» or nearly so ; but just now
the certain glory of the earth is hOt exacfly unremarked»
but it is  noted" like a message frona H.O«, and I ana not
content with that.

Simencourt. Alar.  8.
The Reformed Church of France at Icklcourt.
It was a pretty little cbapel frona the outside, that stood
next door to nay H.Qa _. Insde it was terribly ' refornaed ',
for there was not a vestige of an altar of any kind ; only
a huge pulpit with a canopy stood against the çarther wall,



E. H. L.S. March I916
and beneath that a lectern. Both places, and the gallery
at what i will call the west end, had numerous service books,
and books of other men's serinons, some of them old
eighteenth-century tomes. There were also a great number
of their ç Cantiques ', which were printed as though every
one knew all about them and their origin, which I
certainly do hot. They are a kind of potted Psalms in
verse.
Thus, appropriately,
Ps. z. D'où vient ce bruit parmi les nations ?
E. g. f./E. D. A quoi porte leur impuissante haine ?
Peuples, pourquoi dans vos illusions
g. b. a.g./F. Vous flattez-vous d'une espérance vaine ?
Je vois hgues les princes de la terre
• Dans leurs conseils ; les grands ont présumé
D'être assez forts de déclarer la guerre
A l'Eternel, à son Oint bien aimé.
And Ps. i, with its so typical inversions :-
Heureux celui qui fuit des vicieux
Et le commerce et l'exemple odieux:
Qi des pécheurs hait la triompheuse voie
Et des moqueurs la criminelle joie,
Qg_i, invoquant Dieu, ne se plaît qu'en sa loi
Et nuit et jour la médite avec foi.
(Fin.)
It is full of 'Peuples, venez...', and the whole thing
is obviously faithfully portrayed in Athalie. But I must
ordy quote one more. After passing an ominous
Mon Dieu, quelle guerre cruelle !
(hOt from a Psalm, I think), I came to--



Iy2 E, H. L.S. March 1916
Luther's Hymn, to the usual tune s thus :
C'est un rempart que notre Dieu,
Si l'on nous fait injure ;
Son bras puissant nous tiendra lieu
Et de fort et d'armure.
L'ennemi contre nous
Redouble de courroux,
Vaine colère [--Qe pourrait l'Adversaire ?w
L'Eternel détonne sts coups.
(Fin.)
But 1 cannot let Haessler's tune go (hOt a Passion hymn
this tune; it is called Cant: 49, but it is not ri-oto a
Psalm) :-
Jamais Dieu ne délaisse
Q.9.i se confie en lui,
Si le monde m'oppresse,
Jésu est mon appui.
Ce Dieu bon et fidèle
Garde en sa paix les siens
Pour la vie éternelle,
Et les comble de biens.
It is easily believed, as I write (on this gorgeous Spring
morning) chez Briache, Arras, March I8.
(The Book was published '63 and I must quote the end of
the Avant-Propos.
' Puisse... ce livre d'orgue contribuer puissamment...
à relever le goût du chant sacré dans les assemblées de
fidèles et dans les familles, et seconder fructueusement
l'organiste dans sa belle et ainte mission.')
The Cathedral. dVIar.  7  916.
So belote breakfast I had found my way, though not too
easily. Some cathedrals are easier to find than others ;



E. H. L.S. March rgr6 x)'3
their towers stiil stand to shew the way. Hcre it was not
incongruous that the entry to the Cathedral was by the
ruins of the Musée. I might have thought I had corne
straight on the east end» for beforc roc lay a large altar
with long rails. So true is it that men final thernselves in
the Sanctuary unawales. But it was the south transept» so»
as in duty bound, I rnade my way back to the left and round
the west door. It is ail very Byzantine, of cours% and the
resernblance to St. Paui's was increased by the ring of
bouses below the high steps. But I have known good hours
in St. Paul's, and anyhow the church is in ruins .... Yes»
it has paid in full as no doubt bas many a penitent wlo
bas stood wonderingly by the ruined confcssionals which
line the aisle. Thit aisle is not so ruincd as the northern»
and thus it carne that the inscriptions on the Stations of
the Cross» though not the carving» still remained ; and
selecting the one which bore tl:e number of rny Regirnent»
I stood over against it by the pillar to look towards
the chancel. I do not know whetler it was towcr or dome
that lay in ruins a little farther east ; but though it was
gone, the four central arches» with the deep blue of the
spring sky for their only burden still stood to their post
for the glory of God. Only one pigeon strutted past rne
as 1 went ; but perhaps he felt his responsibilities for the
lonely solemnity of his walk was liJie the mernory of a
thousand vergers. It rnight indeed have becn his little
protest when» later» a little piece of roof fell at my feet 
for he passed me flying on his way to the arches a moment
before it came. But I was now at the Chancel steps»
and before rne lay the altar with its image and inscription
 Ave Regina Caeli '
in gold on Nue. No wonder if Our Lady of Lourdes



 '4 E.H.L.S. March  9  6
veiled her head beneath a huge canvas sheet» for it was too
much of an irony that she should look for ever t'owards
a deso!ate altar with the legend
' Autel PriviIégié à Perpetuité'
But it was hOt really to end sadly, my little visit;
for something like a triumphant cry from the ruins awaited
me at the door as I went out. For tbere, on the battered
walI, stood out this rudeIy scratched memorial, which as I
read, I remembered the glorious endurances ofthis adorable
peopl% and I thought with envy of the heroes who had
perhaps this for their only commemoratio% and for
type the four unbroken arches ofthe nav% that reached up
towards the Spring to bear lope ontbeir shoulders :--
' Honneur aux
Braves Poilus du Nème qui ont £ait tout leur devoir.'

dIlarch zo.
 a.m. Down the street past H.Q:_. murmuring
' As long as they let me more about..."
p.m. Robert Radford singing Nazareth (actually as
write, in our sitting-room chez Briache) on gramophone.
heard him at Hereford Festival, from The Chantry with
C. A.A.
' Though poor be the chamber .... '

We go in to-night. 21larch z I.
At this moment me voilà de retour fi'om the little
church of Achicourt. I went on the H.Q<_. orderIy's cycle
to return the Livre d'Orgue I took away to copy those
hymns from. So I returned that book, and I stayed for
a few moments ia that little gallery. ' The Lord of



E. H. L.S. April 96
Hosts is with us', and thrice, ' Underneath are the ev¢r-
lasting arms '. I know now what Odysseus rneant by his
action on returning :
• ç,8 "
Or rather I bave known it before» as long ago as
Houtkerque.
I was not altogether dry of eyc, though btfore ever I
started. For I had been reading C. A. A.'s letter about
both of us trying to build the New Jerusalem: ¢and
though neither your trenches" . . may be very showy bricks
let's hope they'll be used in the basement.' I read that
out at tea to C Company oNccrs, and they applauded it
not a little» and I round myself to my amazemcnt nearly
choking.
Ioday» pril 3 x96"
 There is an ocer * corning to sce your trenches»' said
the Adjurant on the 'phone.  I want you to hand over the
Cornpany to him.No end of a man,' he went on;
 Military Cross» Captain xst R.B.» and ail that.'
That was a bit sudden but obviously tbr the enor-
mous advtage of the Company ; and as I said in my
lettcr bornes this war is hot being run entirely to gratify the
ambitions of fourth-rate and unimportallt subalterns! . . .
So that's that» and now behold me once more a subaltern»
under authority better than any I ever exerciseds and kely
to bave yet another chance of learning my job[ Perhaps I
may be a soldier yet if the war lasts long enoun ....
To-day's gossip is rather thn. It appears some French-
man has prophesied that the war will be over in 9 6
bours from this morning ] The oflCsive at Verdun is to
break down then» and that means the end. So that was
• Capt. Barclay.



)-6 E.H.L.S. April 96
why the men in tle butts to-day rnight bave been heard
quite solernnly (bless their simple souls !) saying  Yes, I got
that at two this afternoon; so we won't be long in the
trenches this next trip!'
Sorne one should really write a book on war rumours
and gossip; et would be quite as entertaining as the real
history.
lednesdas "eiP rll 5.
I biked on ahead during the afternoon to  tke over' as
I generally do. I took et being day» the usual longer route
behind the hills:--Simencourt--Berneville--WarlusmDain-
villeAchicourt, lut this rime I had to push rny machine
down railway for ¼ mil% the last bit of road being closed by
day» and I was pretty hot wben I arrived at the little chapel.
For as usual I did hot forger to stop tlere. 1 bave corne to
love that little village behind tl.e line as indeed so many
other places out Lere ; and et will I hope» be long before I
forger et and the quaint little Reformed Church of France
in which on more than one occasion now I bave founct
peacefulness and sanctuary.
ICnesday pril  z.
A very delightful and easy morning. Trayler had the
gramophone, and again we had of cours% Kirkby Lunn
singing O Lovely Night '» and a Mess Allen singing
« Who'll buy rny strawberries ?' After tea we caught two
rnotor lorries which took us to St. Pol twenty rniles away.
This was a great run ; et poured with rai% but the run did
me good and I thought with enthusiasrn of rnany places.
•.. It was glorious to have Merry with rne all the terne.
St. Pol was exciting because et held shops and lit
windows ; and I delighted rnyselfin gazing with eyes glued
to tlese, at anything, however garish, exposed in the



E.H.L.S. April x9 6 y7
window. I bought several post-cards and an Easter card or
two. One, like my old Houtkerque, was entitled
 Until to End',
and lacked something in the way of Idiom.

I4/'ednesday to Thursday» wtpril  - .
The train i left at 12.3o ; therefore we boarded at IO,30 ,
and slept fairly well. Very uncomfo,oEable as there were
too few Firsts, but we did hOt mind when eventually we did
get to Boulogne. Dawn came cold, but by 9.o or so it was
warm and fine, and things were looking very rosy indeed
as we marched out of the train towards out big breakfast at
the usual buffet at the station.
At 2.3o in came an officer of the Cheshires :--« AI1 Leave
cancelled: notice up at A.bl.C.O.'s of2fice." A joke, we
thought ; but no.
\Vell oit I went to the Qai and there it was:  Ail
officers and men on leave v:ill reç»ire" (silly idiom that !)  to
return to their units. Those proceeding on duty to England
will continue journey. Further announcements later."
* Oh so that's it is it ?" we thought. Explanation obvious ;
Ypres, Verdun and Arras all taken London in flames
fleet at the bottom of Channel» entire B.E.F. on verge
of extermination. At least what 1 really thought was
not quite that: I thought probably the Hun had made a
bit of a success of some attack on Verdun and got near
enough to make it advisable for everybody to  stand
by'. That doesn't seem to be the case; at least l've
not read of such a thing. One explanation is that it
is a traffic marrer in England merely ; but in any case
I needn't waste rime (and carbon) by more guesses, as

 The Leave-train.



8 E.H.L.S. April 96
we simply dotx't know at ail. Nor do we know if and when
leave will re-open ; some are uite optimistic others think
it may be lolg.
Well» that as a dreary afternoot for many an expec-
tant sol of a family. I did the best thing for myself by
sleepilg two hours in the botel.
ipri l
lut ail was not black for anothër reason. Three men
of  th Battalio happeed to be returning from Leave
tlat night, so I was able to sec them and talk of old days.
There was Mackworth of Magdalen now attached to
Div. H.Q. (  Qa_. branch' f think he said, and Jackso% now
Cptain and Adjurant ; also Pugh. We sat round talking
Masonry with Mackworth for a long time and what he
told us more than anything I had heard belote, was rather
thrilli,g. The search for the Narne of God sounded a taairy
tale a,d it is amazing how far they all seem to believe irt
it. I ought to be a parso% certainlywho knows ?
Breakfast next day at the Ocers' Club at Boulogne; very
convenient plac% and o,e well worth klowing for the
next occasion if it comesor whe» for I ara still opti-
mistic. Followed by a long sleep which lasted till Amiens
where we got out. Here came the unique odour of France
straight to me as I came out of the station with Meiiy
and I was in a great state of delight. We wint to look at
the Cathedral ad I found there everything, that my
wildest dreams of Gothic had boped for. It was a Spring
morning ; and there was tle Cathedral of Amiens» and I
hoped that it marked the dawn to a xew age.
« Une nouvelle inspiration tous les jours'
I round myself asking for (quite unconscious that» as
offert» I was prayiag in French) by tle west door.



E. H. L.S. April 96

211onday, lpril 1 7 » 1 9 1 6.
A day more absolutely devoid ofsalt I do not wish to see.
It poured» and as usual in this rather beloved spot in Spring,
I resent it furiously.
The touch of light came in my short visit to the
Cathedral whcre I ceremoniously set a statue on its feet
and after encouraging a poor headless divine in the vestry»
passed on to the Holy Chapel.
Fury again at night» getting split up in the wire coming
home over a « short cut '.

Thursda), lpril
It is not for every one to stand on the summit ofa Cathe-
dral Tower from the insid% but that was my cxperience
this morning ; I having gone there before breakfast. For
the first rime this week I saw sunshine and blue sky» and it
was worth seeing after this miserable week» how the white
clouds came across the blue over the broken church like
vengeance towards the Hun lines. Opening the Bre-
viary (bought at Hazebrouck in December) at Jeudi Saint»
[ found
« Zelus domus tuae comedit me ".
My father's favourite psŒElm» by the way, is l zz» and it
was here that two or three days ago I murmured it through
entirely to the  Beethoven' chant. At Home Farm (by
Bivelen Château) in February it used to be 7» with good
reason in the evening.

Rest of tour till dVlay 4, ray Leave day.
The outstanding feature was the route raarch on what I
take to be Wednesday. It was to be eight toiles» and I
round a way that ruade what I calculated to be x3»6oo



6o E.H.L.S. April r96
,ards and perfectly glorious. The route is on my xf+oooo
map at the top and mainl), remarkable for the fact that it
had a most glorious halt right on a hill overlooking village
after village of this beautiful plain. Also it was on high
ground nearly all the wab and the men thoroughly enjo),ed
it I think» though it was quite hot (after my liking this) :
I gave them twenty minutes" halt at that place» which
pleased them I think. We want lots more of this hot
weather to sweat the damp and rheumatism out o£ our old
bones.
« Le temps a laissé son manteau" •
wrote M. G. W. to me at this period ; and I replied on
C. OEioEl :me Ref: manteau. Yes Man ; and Rupert Brooke
would bave liked the lilac that grows outside my window."
O.C. Coy. agaln. It seemed strange to be this again walk-
ing about this delightful village, where three weeks ago I
had just been deprived of the post by friend Barclay and
was not feeling in at ail good spirits. Also it was almost
Summer now, and then there was frost ; and our billet was
far better, and there was a suggestion of the Plain ; and the
lilac and chestnut are right out, and I was going on Leave,
and ready to see my people, and England.

Bapton alanor. (l¢ritten hile on Leave.)
It is wonderful moonlight over the Wylye Valley and I
ara at the window of my childhood's bed-room. My pencil
is in my hand but I could hot reach my only remedy in
expressionmnot, I was going to say, if I sat for ten years ;
but that would be even more hopeless--I should have to
lire twenty-five years backwards. For as I sit here there

 Charles d'Orléans : Pndeau .... See pages 18 3 and z41.



.. H. L.S. May 1916 161
rushes in upon me the inconceivable throng with which
have for twenty-five years Feopled this country--ail the men
and women of nay reading, and of nay dreams. One da)"
I will take ink and paper and I will try and set sonae of
them down ; at present I content myself with saluting the
old cedar-tree under whose arbour Tracy T. kissed tEe
spinster aunt, and the old lady's pronaenade to it trona tle
house. But it is all Dingley Dell, and 1 ana hot here to
annotate t'icki«k.
Ho! the naalady ffom which i surfer is the naenaoy of
the water-naeadows, so old and so young: and I cannot
think how I shall ever deliver my soul of it. Of course»
knov everyïnch of thena through and through» fr(na here to
Fisherton de 1oE Mere. The old gare I used to swing on,
that is gone : but the bridges remain, and the swaying weeds,
and the still fisles, and the little hatcl:es, and tle incredible,
deep unapproachableness of the riverdeep water and
don't you go too close'and the bare possibility of eing
drawn into the mill ; the snaell of the naill» and of the wet
naeadows ; the strange ventures of nay thrown sticks and
boats beneath the bridges ; the river over wlich the garden
leans» and tle ditch along the gardert towards itah,
Wilcot, where are you ? Sonaewhere jealous and beyond
the Downs ? Ah» but I am sprung from this valky ; thee
is no drop of water in the nayriad streanas but bas its kin
in nay veins.
The Ga llarm. Saturday and Sunday.
2lay zc-zI» 1916.
It seems rather hunaorous this lovely morning, as I write
in Elliott's quiet roona but it did hot at the rime. As it
happened I was very nauch awake, having spent many hours
in collecting standing orders from old Battalion Orders for



x;2 ]2. H. L.S. May 96
some months back, and indexing them, and altogether
having rather an efficient and amusing gaine by myself.
So when I heard Ping ! Hng !! on the horn, I thought ' No,
that can't be the harmonium in the Chapel next door  it
is Gas this time '. So 1 started no end of a fanfaxonade on
my whistle ; and judging from impressions left on some of
the men, this part of the show at least seems to have bcen
rather a success. I was alluded to several rimes as  they'
with « their whistles'; and my orderly thought--there were
ten men blowing!

+th Divlsional School of Instruction.
une I916.
Some Recollections of Several Fine People.
Sth K.R.R.ç. Rogers. This was a magnificent thing of a
man in his way : huge deep voice and command like a bull :
knew Irving and Fairbairn and Day in the Artists, from which,
I think he has recently got his commission. He was the
hero of our little cricket-match. I shall never forget him
danchag round hanging on to the roof the whil% to the
tune of' Oh etc. etc.' in the "bus coming back from the
Sniping School. He would be a dark man with what would
go for a firm chin and a decided personality» and the words
of his mouth were powerful hearing.
9th R. 13. 1. H. L.S. Not very good.
Capt. Benskin» R.E.s D.S.O. He and the Colonel and
I had a terrific argument over education orte night;
he was all for modern things and of course French
and I were very much on opposite sides» and I didn't
get very far, though he was quite delighted with my
V.' which 1 shewed him. Curiously enough letter
from Ronnie next day quoting a remark of K.  that Latin
 Lord Kitchener.



E. H. L.S. June 1916 1¢ 3
Prose taught him more than anything else: but Benskin
merc]y argued that/)e wou]d have thriven on any rare.

Sunda,, yune 18.
On this day I had a very wonderful walk in the morning,
starting soon after breakfast, alone. Throughout all this
trip thre was a lot of excitement over Keats' Nigktingale,
though I did not tZail to rcalise at the time that it would
not do to soak too much in it, in vicw of the circumstanccs
of the reader out here! I kncw with a quite physical
realisation what he meant by : « Fade far away, dissolve, and
quite forger' . . . that morning. It was at the corner
between the cover and the wood ; and there the road cornes
swooping round as though it knew the arms of all the lairics
were opening in the wood below ....
To get to the village I ruade across ½ R. and then turned
sharp left down the road. Perhaps the village was more
adorable than anything I have scen since Houtkerque, and
it would be absurd to deny that in itself it is much more
beauti_thl. The road through the village climbs slowly up
the hill like a piIgrim to the church on the hill-top ; and
it seemed in most English wise that it loitered by pools
and official bouse corners as it rose. Finally the church
reminded me tremendously of some little church on the
Plain; with its avenue of chestnuts diagonally leading to
the little door, and its little cemetery, and the big trecs
and curé's house around.
In the evening Hall and I went to Noyelle again, this
time making fbr the next village beyond it. Hall, by
the way, is one of the privilcged peoplc to whom I havc
lent Tke Patb to Rome. The othcrs, I think I havc noted
in the book.



I64

E.H.L.S. February 9
LETTERS

To HIS FaTHER. B.E.F. TP, e Farm.
Feb. -.., 1916.
We came out absolutely « fiat-out" into the f.rm last
night» the men quite exhausted after a bad rime. I am
temendously happy to be here at test for two or three
days; so are the men. It was grand to see how they
looE'ed a test in the mud of the road coming down last night»
f:.lling asleep constantly in some cases. It is rather fun
whcn it's over ; the mere physical delight of a chair when
ou are pretty well exhausted the walk in the air (fresh
and hot foul) before a very Iate breakfast back here» the
comparative silence ; the chance of writing a Ietter, of
reading a book, of hearing the dear old sad songs of the
British Infantry, which thrill me whenever I hear them,
because [ know the men» poor hardly-used creatures, are
happy açter a bad rime. They bave had an exhausting w¢ek.
Yes one does corne into one's own with the Psalms.
One of the wisest remarks of Hilaire Belloc in Tbe Faut 2len
is where he curses a ertain poet for his  dreadful innocence
of the great emotions'. I do hot see how tese eau be
sufered and enjoyed except in war. (And of course your
i zz is the pick. How often have my thoughts gone back
 turribus tuis ',* with a murmur of « Rogate quae ad pacem
sunt Jerusalem' !) He did know what it was to be alter-
nately in dangerous places and out of them !

To C. A. ALINGTON.

' Will I please ', says the Adjutant,
of C Company from now ?"

B.E.F.
Feb. fo, 1916.
« take over command

* Psalm 1,- z. « I was glad when they said unto me :
into the bouse of the Lord.'

We will go •



E. H. L.S. February  9  6  6-

The O.C. C Company (Roberts, a great Cambridge
cricketer I think)was killed in what would have bcen
probably his very last tour of inspection of his trenches, the
foulest, most unspeakable and battle-scarred, I suppose, in
the world : it is there that--oh well, I mustn't put in horrors.
This was two nights ago, and for thirty-six hours 1 bave been
in his sb.oes with a feeling of something like remorse at the
dreadful noiseless continuity, so typical of the Army, with
which the place he leaves is (nominally) filled. Companies
are so scattered here that we see little of each other, and
I knew him only slightly; but he was much liked and is
terribly hard to follow.
It would be silly to pretend that I ara not pleased with
this very unexpected lift up, however irreverent I may feel
to my predecessor's memory. It is a big opportunity, in
its way, after all, and I only wish I were more equal to it.
This is rather a heavy letter, I ara afraid ; having got what
I often wanted, but saw no likelihood of getting, I can't
help feeling rather a worm ! In fact, I need a pastoral epistle
rather badly for man), reasons, and wou!d be grateftfl il: I
could have it, from you.

To HIS MOTHER. B.E.F.
Feb. 17., 1916.
I write this right back out--we've trained and marctxed
back to within a toile of out month's rest billets. That's
the news as far as it goes, and I suppose it will allay anxiety
for the present. I wrote a letter in the trenches to an old
Salopian on his entering the sector to relieve us, in which
I said quite truthful.ly that (though I was perhaps foolishly
sentimental, and partly lying) I couldn't leave that sector
çuite without a pang. After all there is nothing like it on
earth nor I suppos% ever will be. It's not a bed of roses



 6 6 E.H.L.S. February I9 1 6
exactlysee the casualty lists recently and those to come
but I would hOt bave missed being there for worlds.
To HIS FATHER. B.E.F.
Fe. I+, I916.
I'm so sorry to hear you're har are carnat with a cold.
l remember rather enjoying the gaine called lronchial
Catarrh at Eton, where you had to stay in bed for fear it
should become pneumonia, and yet fe!t quite wcll and read
like anything, I read Lama Daane under those conditions
and loved it. This matter of novel-reading was ære,ented
to me as a duty (!) at Shrewsbury.
I bave lately corne to believe, as A. C. Benson would say,
that there's a lot in this, and that the busier I ara (and of
course I ara far more so now as O.C. Coy.), the more
necessar), it is that I should try and get this bit of reading;
provided, of course, that I don't let it get to mare than a bit !
To HIS FATHER, B.E.F.
Fel. 17, 1916.
The arrival of Sir D. Haig down the road was rather
picturesque. Unfortunately I had, like all O.'s C. Coys.,
to give out that rnen muxt look straight to their front and
not follow him with their heads, and therefore I had to
keep my own straight. So it came about that I saw literally
nothing except the great man himself when on the ground.
But coming down the road, as I said, it was picturesque ;
the C.-in-C. and the Army Commander and their staff(or
rather halfa dozen ofthem) and six Lancers and the Corporal
carrying the Union Jack, behind ; it was this very mediaeval
procession, trotting clown the road a quarter of a toile from
the field, that we could ail bave a look at and which was
very striking. When he came on we had the usual busi-
ness; the bugle sounded and we gave the General Salute by



E. H. L.S. February z 9 z 6 z67

]3attalions. Then he rode down past each Battalion, when
I could have had a good look at everybody if it would have
done: and as t, ou ma t, guess, I swivelled m t, eyes round a
bit, onllr taking care to keep m t, head straight. However
the effect was that it was not until I round him bending
down from lais horse and asking me how long I'd been out,
and « had I been quite fit all the time ?' that I realised he
was upon me. I don't know at how many Company
Commande's l:e stopped ; quite likely at ail, though I don't
think he did. It was unfortunate that of two remarks,
with which I have favoured the C.-in-C., one was a lie!
But the alternatives were :--(i)  Yes, Sir.' ()  Well, Sir
now t,ou corne to mention it I did catch a slight chill in
the lines, and had a short spdl in hospital at Hazebrouck ;
you know the place, perhaps, Sir: very nice people they
were indeed." So rather than hold up the great man and
the Army Commander and other brass-hatted gentry
and the whole Brigade with these truthful particulars, I
chose (I)» and I hope the Recording Angel rea-lised that
I was only doing what any but the very coolest of soldiers
could very well presume to do.

To HtS FATHER. B.E.F.
Feb. zz, 1916.
You would all adore this place, but you couldn't have
anything like the huge joy with which I regard every inch
of it ; you want +½ months in the flats to get the best out
ofthe Downs. That is what they are. I couldn't think,
tbr a moment, to-day why I felt Bapton when the train went
by, till I realised that it ruade precisely the same noise
under the big Downs as the G.W. trains there. Then for
Mure there would be a watertZall, with a big mill-wheel
turning and pounding away by the side.



 68 E.H.L.S. February , 9  6
And to-day the Company couldn't get a football; so I
rode off to a town (hOt the big one, but it had lots of shops,
and I had hopesJ three mi]es off: no good : three more in
a diflerent direction to a small village» where the town man
said there was a  fabriquant de ballons' (glorious phrase !),
and in doing so I got up about 6oo feet» I suppose, and beheld
the earth and it was a good place : (I got the football» old
but passable; his last). I write in bed (absurd luxury),
rather uneasily in this position» but anyhow I could hOt add
much of value to this description of a very happy day.

To R. A. KNox. B.E.F.
Feb. zz, x9x6.
It is terribly lat% but after all we are in billets» miks
and mlles from the old district, and comparatively luxurious
ones» so I could have no excuse for not writing (in bed too:
ab.urd prosperity !).
So you have taken a leaf out of my history» bave you ?
I was a little taken aback on hearing I had to bave the
operation, but it was explained next day that shace about
tb.e nineties the operation is about the simplest going.
* This may be all very well' as the Rev. Mr. Rolles said ;
' it may be excellently well': but that can't prevent my
being aw/hlly sorry to hear about it all.
I can only hope everything will go as well with you as it
did with me» and that you'll enjoy the convalescent period
as much and as soon. Being a lazy individual, and very
tired for some reason at that period of the terre» I had a
glorious rime in bed reading books ; C. A. A. gave me
Tante» I remember» to my great delight» and I waded
through practically all Shaw's plays and prefaces again:
and the Man sent me Syng% and I got excited again about
Deirdre and Emain. And there was the great morrfing



E. H. L.S. February I9 16 I6 9

when I felt practically ,well so long as I kept still, and after
waking up turned over and lit a candle very early, and re-
flected that I had the whole day to read, if I liked, and that
it was all rather fun. All this unholy glee in complete
idleness may hot corne your way so fully, but I hope some
of it may. Meanwhile the Man is within one toile of me
as 1 sit, and I ara just going over to tea there with him.
It is strange. A cathedral town is within a dozen toiles
o c us; hot the one where he lived years back, but a good
place. I hope to get there.
, from which you will infer this is the next day. I
ara now at tea with the Man, who will add a statement.
Good-bye for the prescnt and good luck.

To HIS //IOTHER. B.E.F.
Feb. z7, 1916.
To-day was Sunday. And there was Celebration in
the school here, and we knelt at the familiar desks in the
familiar room all hung with maps» and I remembered that
1 was a schoo!master too: and I saw the familiar black-
board ; also I reflected that 1 could not write on it so
beautifully as the (doubtless) dear old painstaking master
of the little village. And I thought of you all» and
wondered whether you knew I was doing so. Only last
night one ofmy officers produced the Golden Treasury» and
I turned up c The Blessed Damozel ' of Rossetti» and came
at once across the passage where the two are praying,
widdy separated, as we are :-
Are not two prayers a perfect strength ?
And shall I feel afraid?
And I said ' Tl:ank you', and I dosed the book and 1
thought of my home.



7o E.H.L. 3. February 96
To C. A. ALINGTON. B.E,.F.
Feb. OET» 1916"
We had two or three days of great peacefulness several
miles behind our old line; then travelled northwards to
some most adorable country very like English Downs: I
scoured fifteen mlles of them one glorious morning in
search of a fobtball on my pony (and got it) for the
Company; a funny thing it was too, but it did ail right.
Two days there was all we got, but oh! the incredible
old ladies of my billet. One was 93 ad the other 7% I
suppose ; a mother and daughter. The latter was iii and
rheumatic, and the mother fo!lowed her every motion with
the eyes of one looking after a child. Yes and when one
of my officers went in to find billets, she caught him
affectionately by the arm and said « Remember "7 o " .... It is
so far better than Alphonse Daudet! Since leaving there
we have marched a couple of days, sideways with regard to
the line, in ShOW ; bitterly cold weather and miserable
billets--for the men, I fear: the officers managefl better ;
we had a house of some kind and could keep out of the cold,
which pierced the barris where the Company was. But it's
hot easy tobe quite happy with the knowledge that one is
probably one of perhaps four or rive who aren't pretty
miserable--or a-t least so one would think: but they are
ver), wonderful with it all.
Many thanks for your letter, which I was delighted to get.
l'm still awaiting the epistle for which I asked, and hope
to get it soon (our letters crossed). Not that I'm unhappy
at all ; but l'm just getting a touch of the ' fed-upness"
which seems to come on some people wh&ve been out some
rime, and it's much too early. Besides, I'm hOt really fed
up ; only one easily gets rather to lose sight of one's ideals
and lie about so to speak ; and having just got my Compan:/



E. H. L.S. March gza
this won't do. Can you understand ? I expect you can.
And the Communion Service to-day was in a schoolroom,
and I felt rath less contemptiblc than usual.

To HIS MOTHER. B.E.F.
Situation unchanged.
3larch 1 I, 1916.
The only curious thing is the discovery of a way to get
into the ruined Protestant Church next my bilkt; hOt
badly ruined, but with broken windows and a fcw stones
shelled loose through the roof (never hit directI7, I should
say, but shaken). So to-morrow the Padre (who lires and
will lire for tle next w¢ek with us) will celebrate there,
among the ruins. Rather sadder, I can't Lelp feeling,
these villages which have hot really been deserted altogether,
and whose Church shows signs of a very recent Service--
more so, I fee], than a Church like Ypres, completely
ruined and abandoned ages since ; for the tragedy is still

breathing.
To R. A. KNox.

I ara glad you're going on so fast.

B.E.F.
2Vlarch II, I916.
Yes» you've beaten

me in some ways.: but l'm not so sure about the morphia.
There the advantage lies, I feel, with me. I remember
being a little proud ofthat episode : it is hot for everybody
to feel the mild suggestion of devilry incident to it--as
though one had a little secret which only needed advertise-
ment to make (as Walter de la Mare bas it) ¢ Cold voices
whisper and say "NHe /:aS taken _hloraOtda.
l'm Town Major of somewhere: isn't it fun ? This
distinguished honour is however to be wrested from me,
when we more in two days, by the Company Commander



I72 ]ï. H. L.S. March 96
who takes over my billets : still, to be addressed as ' M. le
Major" even for a few days is something. It means busy
times, however, so I must let this short scrawl go.
To R. F. }AILEY, B.E.F.
lar. 1916.
What about that Polonius z scene» by the way ?
Men» it's not such fun being a Company Commander as
it might seem» if you're incompetent. Tell Kitch ; and
that I really will write when I can. Tell J. O. W. ditto,
and thank him very much for lovely book»  which l've just
had time to open for the first time almost (except the
Rupert Brooke sonnet» which I read at once). I wish I
was not such a fool» Men» by God I do.
To ms MOTHER. B.E.F.
2larch Iç» I916.
Here again we are now in a good bouse, belonging to the
owner of the big factory over the way (which, by the way,
is a useful buoEer for shells when they corne over, and the
Bosche bas hOt been altogether asleep ]ately). What I
cannot bring myselfto grasp is the situation about all these
empty bouses» evidently left in a hurry and full to the brim
with books and property. Empty ruined bouses I think I
may claire to bave some experience of» after Ypres: but here
somehow the pathos of the thing is all alive ; every house
scems only just left, and more sadly. Yet why one should
be more moved by one deserted boudoir (to which the
owner will perhaps return) than by ten thousand bornes
desolated beyond all hope of repair» that is a question
I cannot answer.
* This letrer was writren rioto near Arras.



E. H. L.S. çlarch :9:6 :73

To J. o. WHITFIELD. #larch I7, t9I%*
(*sic. Corne, corne, my man--after z½ montbs. . . )
Wash out apologies and let me get on. They'le so badly
due that they'ld fill ail my letter. Yours was a very fine
letter and I loved getting it. Yes, tle little book  is
delightful. 1 agree about Rupert Brooke and Jian Grcn-
fell, and I suppose about Newbolt but I'm not sure. One's
values fluctuate so strange]y out here. Some things are
spinal at home but bearable and even good out her% because
they simply dcpict what Belloc called « the great emotions '.
In fact it is no exaggeration to say that I have known a poem
or a verse, or whatever it may b% to be intolerably spinal
in billet% and very near one's heart twenty-ur hours later
in theline. And though 1 am now in billctsbillets of an
incredible Mnd» to% in a large town within a distance from
the Hun that is only measured in thousand yard strctcV, es
(incredible how few)even so I can just summon up enough
memories of F 3 ç  to make me guess that given the right
condition% the poem might be în inspiration. In ct it
bas been in its way. Your reply will be that it may 
near reality but it is not Art ; and I think (for I ara in
billets) you are right.
Curiously the Man gave me a copy of the Oxford Pocket
Virgil : it arrived at ' A' buts (I don't know why I put that
in, except to please myself with memofies of that mud-
bath ; for you don't know where it i% and thank God it's
not here, though I love to remember itnow isn't that
absurd ?)it arfived as I say just after Chfistmas» and
I read the 4th Eclogue again as you did I think. It
is very good of you to suggest it.Ah but this is a lovely
place, l've just stuck my hcad out of the windov, to
t t trie Front.  A trench.

(A)



174 ]. H. L.S. March x 9 x 6
send for an orderly to take a message which l've written
since point (A). Spring's coming» ),ou know» and there
will be Pipp% and blue sky over the cathedral to substitutc
for the tower (or dome was it ? Who knows ?) that lies now
at the foot of the chancel steps» and to be carried by the
still standing four great central arches. Steady a minute ;
I'm going to make a statement now. I was in there this
morning and you shall bave the benefit (?) of it. 1 must
make a statcment in my diar)bZ now» and you shall have it
in carbon. I ara sorry for you» but I ara rather excited,
and you began it. Excuse me while I get my book ....
No--Wash-out. « Dcath and the Maiden " on out gramo-
phone!!! By the way» I belicve there's a war on: one
forgets it here.., there's the air back again.., and the
• . . Ah well» but that was ver),» ,'ery good. The next
tune is (I greatly fear) likely to be spinality by Landon
Ronald. WelI» no» but it's ail about a  bird of love
divine" ; tant pis.
Now then» I will shew you how a man runs upstairs to
get his diary. Ach! the.,spinal applau-catcher, the top
note. I'm off.
1 think I was saying when that business beganall the
fault of that rderly, really--that I was very grateful for
your very kind offer of a book; and when people are kind
enough to do that sort of thing» it is only a fool who
throws away his opportunity! Let me therefore indicate
firmly that I do hot possess the Shropshire Lad» and never
did» and that it is rather absurd. The Man used to have
a greea cloth edition which I have fingered for years ; and
l believe» if you would be so very kind as to send me one
like that, I should be very happy. I should be in easy time
i Page  5 z. TIe Catloedral.
 Schubert's String uartet in D minor (zÆd mo'oement).



E. H. L.S. April I916
for the « Cherry ', (There is nothing like asking for things
in this world !)

To HIS MOTHER. B.J.F.
Match 19, 1916.
It is my birthday, and at midnight exactly I stood in the
trenches, and forgot for the moment about the working
party I was with, and thought of you ai1, hot forgetting to
look carefully in what I took tobe the direction of Lichfield,
and to think that that was a good place to be born in
thirty (!) years ago. « Please detail oflïcer and tbrty men
of your Cmpany" went the order, to work at trenches
and so-and-so. So I thought I could do no better than
inaugurate my birthday by a bit of ,work ; it might be an
omen for a changed future !
So here I ara» feeling well and happy, thank you, except
that I would like to be spending my birthday with you all
instead of here. Still, of all places out here, we've certainly
chosen the best to celebrate it in.

To C. A. ALINGTON. B.E.F.
lpril z, 1916.
' Pretending I like it,' you say. Ycs, and (though I had
evidently a decided fit of the dumps when I last wrote) the
pretence is quite convincing, to me. I reall), think that
was the only period when I was definitdy a little fed up,
ever since I joined: and that was probably because we'd
been out of the trenches too long, and our « tre.k' period,
with the constant fuss over billets night after night, was
getting tiresomely long. Since then we've been in again,
and had the most infernal time I remember from the weather,
though the Hun was evidently so equally miserable that the
firing was very small.



176 E.H.L.S. ApriI 1916
We are all feeltng much better, thank you ; for here we
are sitting in the open air, and the men are writing home,
bless their souls (till we corne to the job of censoring this
evening), and the sun is glorious» and the show seems really
gone this rime.
Vell, as I was saying, things are pretty wdl, really;
I think I was depressed, when I wrote, to a considerable
extent, but your letter cured me at the time. Curiously,
when I first read it, I expected more ghostly admonition
(and still do, for that matter) and said, ' Yes, but...' and
put it in my pocket.
Yet when I remarked to my oflïcers that evening, ¢ [sn't
this rather fine reading?' and proceeded to read a bit of
your letter, I found to my amazement (and theirs, if they
noticed it ; but I doubt if they did, for it was listened to in
spell-bound silence, and they were vastly impressed, I know)
that I could not quite read the last page with a steady voice.
Ah ! yes, that was a good letter.
Meanwhile Pitcairn eones * fs here, and I hailed him xvith
a shout of delight down the trench telephone. It is a very
good business, this.
l've hot seen White again since out great meeting in the
South. But his Battalion's quite near again, and if he's
back from leave I hope to see him soon. It was very sad,
that sudden news about his father. 2
I send this to the Chantry, because I like to imagine
you're sitting there on another such day as this when you
read it, with another Spring coming along, at last, in the
loveliest country in ail England.

i A member ofthe School House at Shrewsbury from September
9xo to July 915.
2 White's father had died on February zT.



E. H. L.S. April 96

To J. O. WHITFIELD. B.E.F.
.dpril 3, J9 I6"
Thc trenches were long and frightfully boring to patrol,
owing to mud and ShOW and frost and considerable exhaus-
tion--seems icredible now, for to-dalt it has been boili»g--
and in the long, lonely trudgcs I might have been observed
mooning along by myself and stopping now and then to
gct a star or two right, and then humming"
Far in a western brookland
That bred me long ago
The poplars stand and tremble
By pools I used to know...
and feeling very happy at that business, I would plunge
along to the next sentry group.

To C. R. CtmMoRE. B.E.F.
.eqpril 8, 1916. z.3o a.m.
I bave this moment seen thc news ' in the 2v/. Post of April
çth, which I opened b}, chance after coming off duty ; and
before 1 turn in for an hour or so, 1 just send a line to say
how very, very sorry I ara. I suppose few people' got going"
quicker than old Mike in what was after all quite a new
job, and one may well ask who ever ruade a better show in
less time.
I won't write a long rigmarole, as I don't expect you
could bear to be inflicted with one just now. But I can't
help adding I feel it is al1 rather splendid. That may be a
bit absurd, but I do feel it. I suppose it is rather a selfish
view of tbings, but I confess the second idea which came
into my head was,  There ; you see again how the thing can
be done '.
x Lieut. M. M. Cudmore was killed in April.



178

E. H. L.S. April 96

And yet, all this infernal philosophy may be very fine,
but the fact does remain ; and it is hot easy to console
oneself when one remembers old times» and how he is the
first of a very priceless old crowd to go. Still, he didn't
and (after all !) doesn't care, and I'm not sure I wasn't right
after ail in feeling, not only unhappy, but also grateful for
his lead to the dear little sportsman--one of the very best
that you or I ever knew, or ever shall know!
Good-bye, old man, and Good luck.

To ms MOTHER. B.E.F.
.,4pril [, 1916.
The sun is shining  it is just after ' stand down' in the
morning, when both sides are very happy, in view of probable
breakfast partly, and also ofthe great fact that it is broad day
and the night is over--that means a lot more than it does at
home. Every one is pleased, firing is very slight at present,
and there is not a sound except from crowds oflarks, singing
some great tale about the Spring as though there never had
been one before (and there never was one more desired, I
know), in strict and splendid neutrality over No Man's
Land.

To I-IlS MOTHER. B.E.F.
tpril 9, 916"
Pli send the promised description now ; I arranged for it
by taking a stroll from Coy. H.Q<_. to one end of the line
yesterday, pencil in hand, during a quiet quarter of an bout,
and just jotting down things seen on the way on the back
of an envelope. Here it is.
Starting from out dug-out, which is a verydif[erent concern
from anything up yonder ', being many feet underground,
and approached by a flight of a dozen or more steps,



E. H. L.S. April 1916 179
beautifully boarded in and supported by thick tree trunks,
I got into the trench leading to the communication trench
that goes to front lines, several score yards up. (The dug-
out itself I will describe in another edition.) I had to take
the signallers' dug-out on the way, and between here and
there I passed various very typical odds and ends--plies of
brushes, old haversacks, box of rockets for signalling in
case of emergency, old water-bottle, a few jam tins (left
by previous occupants--we are being rather good about keep-
ing the place tidy, but I wouldn't swear we nez'er leave tins
about !), old pack, and finally the signallers' dug-out itself--
a quite good concern, though rather crammed, as being
a big one it bas to hold the C.S.M. (Company Sergeant-
Major), officers' servants, and four orderlies, as xvell as the
signallers. Getting rid ofmy message there for the benefit
of an old Salopian, who has just corne out to at:other Com-
pany (an excellent fact this ; curiously it is tle first time
l've had one in the saine Battalion with me)» I was just
leaving them wl:en suddenly I sa:v the trench cat ; ve often
bave them here, but, curiously enough, none of the inmates
of that dug-out knew she was there, though she sat on top
oftheir ' louse'. They're rather a bore really, because tley
walk about the parapet in the front line» and shew where
the posts are by stopping to talk to the mea in full view of
the Hun. But I hadn't time to wait to see if she would
corne down.

To HIS I%IOTHER.
wqpril I0, 1916.
It is very wonderful, isn't it ? To think that I am again
within a few days of seeing you all !
It is getting on for « stand to ' rime, though I mustn't be
rash enough to indicate the exact hour at which that hot
N 



8o E.H.L.S. April 1916
unthrilling event is due. After that I shall be on duty for
three to four hours during the night» ending at about I.o ;
and as ' stand to ' next day is early in the extreme, I shan't
get ver}, much sleep. I ought really to be' clown toit"
now» but then you mustn't expect too much ; when did any
ordinary child go to sleep on being told he was going to
bave a holiday ? So though I haven't had much sleep» and
shall perhaps be strafed by my new friend» the O.C. C Coy.»
for hot taking better care of myself» I can't help just sitting
and scrawling away» hot to any particular point» but just to
shew I ara rather pleased with things just at the moment !
Vell» as I said» itis very wondefful» and I ara in good
form» as you can imagine.
To HS AUNT. B.E.F.
.4Tril I I» 96.
Belote you get this you will probably bave been well
beaten at Bézique» so I just send it beforehand» to console
you by shewing you're not forgotten out here. But if my
journey takes too long--and certainly I seem to be going
to have a much longer job getting home than before--then
you will no doubt have everything ready» pleas% for your
defeat : cards counted» and markers at Zero» especially the
red one» for that is the one you prefer. If» on the other
hand, I get home first, I will make all arrangements for
the first morning session.
To HIS Morl. B.E.F.
2el?ril I5, 96.
We arrived at the Cathedral City  at noon and round
to out great joy that tke train did not go till late afternoon.
So we went and saw the Cathe.'Aral» and as you have
gathered I lost my heart to it altogethcr.
 Amiens.



E. H. L.S. April I9I 181
We used to be very easily satisfied in Belgium with the
churches there, which, though hot great to behold at close
quarters eing largely ruade of brick instead of stone» yet
bave a pleasant way of rising out of the trees and serving
as the only landrnarks on the plain. So when I really
saw sornething good you can imagine my huge delight.
There was an additional excitement because I was able
to buy Ruskin's pamphlet on it, extracted frorn the book
and sold at a franc in the shops. This was glorious
reading, mainly because he is so tremendously excited
about itu, Gothic pure, unsurpassable and unaccusable'-
 The Stars in their courses built it and the nations'...
and so on. I dare say I ought to have been more excited
over the choir-stalls' carving, according to hirn, but I confess
1 loved other parts rnuch more.

To J. O. WHZrFIV.L3. .,Xlpril Xg, 916.
« Aetas parenturn peior avis tulit
nos nequiores, mox daturos
progeniem vitiosiorem.'
'Nos t-ères étaient plus rnéchants que nos aïeux; nous
sommes plus corrompus que n'étaient nos pères; et biext6t
nous laisserons des enfants encore plus vicieux que nous."
Is it hot too priceless, this long tirade ? And better, a
gem from ' Fons Bandusiae' :
' Et venerern et proelia destinat.'
' Il se prepare aux cornbats et à multiplier le troupeau
le pétulant animal' (' lascivi suboles gregis ').
It cornes from a translated Anthology (x 75"-), lying about
in rny billet in the town of , the home of a prosierous
and literary merchant in better days. it was necessary to
cornmunicate with you at once.



82 E.H.L.S. April
To MRs. CasE. B.E.F.
Thursday, wtpril 2o, 1916.
Thank you very much indeed. Your delightful parcel
has just corne in ; like the last, it contained specimens of
everything a soldier likes !
l've rather a good tale for you to-day. A month ag%
when we came into this town, I secured, with the Town
Major's approval» a very fine bouse for out officers' billet. Ve
were just taking over»when in came an agitated FrenchPriest»
who ruade a long and moving speech to the efèct that it
belonged tothe Dpute--an importantperson»of course» and
also an ocer in the Fench army : he had several brother» in
the service» and generally had great claires to consideration»
and (in short) would we be so very good as hot to insist on our
right to occupy his bouse ? The clergyman had been asked to
plead with troops coming in,apparently, and as the French had
agreed» I thought I could hOt (in the interest of the Entent%
as well as from natural sympathy) very well do otherwise than
clear out. 8o we took another hous% and now» after some
more trips to the trenches, we have returned, again not to
his house .... This afternoon tbe Député's bous% hOt many
yards up the street from where I was sitting was heavily
crumped and we were hot there! Poetic justice» is it not ?
To HIs MOTHER. B.E.F.
Tl:ursday, lpril zo» 916.
As you know, I'm O.C. again so l've hOt had to wait long.
Since then l've been, or thought myself, fearfully busy
trying to keep things going. Qite honestly I ara sorry
he* went so soon, for naturally I don't pretend to the saine
experience or capacity as his. Of course, as I wrote to him»
one does and ought to feel that it is a good gara% being a
Company Commander; but I do think the Company
 Capt. Barclay.



E. H. L.S. May I916

would have benefited by some more of him, and so should
I. However» one must just try to carryon. The secret
of the whole thing» as he tan it, was not merely being busy
himself» but being able to act as a sort of centre of activity
and make everything more round him. In fact, I believe
many very fine commanders bave been successful by doing
little themselves and, as it were» sitting in a kind of spider's
web and controlling from inside. At present this is a very
tempting picture, but I don't know nearly enough yet to
be able to indulge in such methods ; but one does learn the
unimportance ofone's own work and inspections and orders,
etc., compared with the value of being able to make all the
other subordinate officials run their own provinces for all
they're worth.

To M. G. WHITE. B.].F.
lay 4, 1916.
Ref. : ' aIanteau." 
Yes» Man ; though if you'd seen out trenches a fortnight
ago» you'ld have guessed that ' the Mother of Months ' had
been at it again
Hlling the shadows and i»dyplaces (sic)
With lisp of leaves and ripple of tain.
But I ara not being very good. Less of it. Man» Shrews-
bury ; and I ara going there. I start to-day for England»
4th May» and Rupert Brooke would like the lilac outside
my window. Ah ! yes» Man ; it is nearly a year now : and
I think of the hollow on the plain, where I was sorry he had
gone and lay» hOt altogether unlike Bello G when (if you
remember) musing on the Nature of Belief. 2
* M. G. W. had quoted in a letter to him
« Le temps a laissé son manteau'.
= At Undervelier» in The Patl to Pme.



84 E.H.L.S. May

To C. A. ALINGTONo T]oe Berners Hotel--London.
drlay 5, 9 x6"
It is not for the boys' sake tat I ara glad the thing is out,
but because I do quite honestly believe that the handful
of people who will read ' V. 3' will enjoy it : it seems like
a quite definite opening of a new kind of art gallery and hot
that loathsome thing, an educational experiment. And if
a few peop]e like to wander through it for half an hour or
so, then to the devil with the angling, and the glory, and
the bait.

To HrS MOTHER. Royal Pa.villon Hotel--Folkestone.
drlay x3, x96.
You must imagine me sitting in the train, trying to look
as if I were used toit and ready to leave you all and home
and dear old England any or every day ata franc a time.
And if you had seen the leave-train go, you would bave seen
many hundreds ofmen trying to do exactly the saine thing,
' which is a thing no one ever succeeded in doing, and in
all probability never will '.
Ah well, but we mustn't talk like this. Now, you know,
there's nothing I need say. I tried to say what I felt when
I first came out, and, thank God, I can just leave it at that
still.
And the other bit ofphilosophy for us both is the marrer
of seeing the thing in short stages. This, of course, is
much easier for me, for I can see the stages more clearly.
But I bave known what it means (like eerybody out here, it's
forced on one) to be absolutely free from any anxiety on
the strength of the prospect of a twenty-four hours' rest in
third-line trenches, coming out of others, in the salient :
and if I'd said ' Yes, but in twenty-four more l'll be there
again', l'Id bave been a fool and miserable.



E. H. L.S. May 

Ail ofwhich may sound very fine (it is tremendously true,
an),way), but I'm here and you're hot, and--but we mayn't
talk like that, ma), we ? Never mind, all things corne to an
end» as the Psa]mist said ; even the War : and as you know,
I believe it will be over about x½ ),ears before the pessimi_ts
expect it. And as I said belote, I'm glad to be in it, and
so are you ail ; so we're all glad together !

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Royal Pa,vilion Hotel--
Folkestone.
lay I, I916.
That* was very good indeed, though dcplorably short.
• I hope to see the Man before very long, but in the ordinary
course ofevents it will be a fortnight before I get to the billet.
Already l've begun to look forward to that rime ; for tb.e
country will, if the weather behaves as it did when I left it,
be lovely, and the Man should be within reach.
That is a very good place you are at, Man, and they are
good men that lire there.

To M. G. WHITE. Boulogne (returni»gfi'om leave).
_,lay 13, I96.
Those men are good, and they live in a good place. I
think they are happ),, too, and you will be glad to hear that.
Also, Man, one discovers that England is hOt as other
countries are. And» in fact, it difCs in so many small
ways, that the real difference is hot easy to seize. But
perhaps I thought more than anything of the manner in
which they arrange their fields there. And I thought so
much ofthis Jittle matter, as I traveIled across them» that I
think you might do worse than agree or otherwise with
what I said to myself in the train: and it went somehow
like this.
i His visit to Shrewsbury on leave.



186 E.H.L.S. May 1916
 Out there ', I said, « the fields lie hedgeless, naked, invit-
ing manœuvre. And coming from the deep, interminable
trenches of the south, I am hot sure I ask anything better.
Certainly I have had glorious days there ; and yet, perhaps
nevcr till I came back a few days ago did I know what it
really was to worship the secluded valleys and the quiet
fences of home. But I am at home now,' I continued,  and
my whole soul goes out to clustered counties where beneath
the mother-grey ofa summer haze, shoulder to shoulder and
safe from the remembered storm, the fields of England lie
close."
There are other differences also, but this will do to go on
with. This is a ver), important marrer, and I will thank
you for further enlightenment on essential differences.
Meanwhile  V.B' is out, though you were bad and my
copy n6ver came, and I had to be given one by C. A. A.
 King Alexander ' (or  Leaves ' rather) is a thing any poet
might offer years of his lire to have written. It is quite
too amazing. The author of the good old  L. House'x is
apparently progressing, though he looked naturally weal¢.
/Xlan, I don't want the War to stop one bit noev ; but
you go to Shrewsbury and see if you can feel that tlvere.
Oh Man, that is a place ....

To HS FATHER. B.E.F.
2la, 1916.
1 see l've been promoted Temp. Capt. whilst command-
ing a Company- ail I felt in England was a certain indig-
nation at hot being one ; ail I feel now is a pretty solid
sense of dejection at being so appallingly unfit for the job.
x A. A. Blakeway, the author of a poem in « V. B ', called c The
Lighthouse'. He was ill at this time, and Southwell had been to
see him.



E.H.L.S. May 96
Well, well, you naay tell Muna she rnay call me Captain ifshe
likes ; but really I ana not feeling particu]ar]y good about it.

To C. A. ALINGTON. 9tb R.B.
.ltlay 6, 9X6.
I have been hoping to get this/etter sent ages ago, but,
as you know, I waited fil] I could get in touch with Pitcairn
Jones' Cornpany Commander, billeted a long way of['; and
just atier doing so, I ara back in the trencles again for one
week in. Merewether (that is the O.C. D Cornpany--he
sa»ed nay life once) was not there whcn it al/happened, but
was able to tell nae a good dcal. Pitcairn Jones was asleep
in lais dug-out with another ot:ficer--it was in the rnorning
--when a shell burst in the doorway» wounding thena both 
but the other oflïcer only got rather peppered with a lot of
litt/e fragrnents, but poor Pitcairn Jones had the full force
ofthe shell. He ",vas very badly hit in the legs, and sutTered,
I ana afi'aid, very nauch while they were getting hina up and
out of his dug-out and afterwards. Yet he seenas, like all
these wonderful people, to have been quite naarvellous over
it all. At least, I don't suppose it is so wonderful really,
considering where he carne frona : but sonaehow I ana apt to
feel naore and not less surprise as tinae goes on and proof
upon proof cornes along of what good Sa/opians really are ;
sonaehow one could understand the pioneers behaving so
well ; but again and again the sanae old magnificence shews
itse/f, and the ball is kept rolling with just the sanae old
speed--and all this just when one is beginning perhaps to
realise what a terrible .sorry kind of worrn one is, and to
feel that the ropes are being worn a bit thin all round, and
that Endurance herselfis getting sick of the war.--But all
this rigmarole proves nothing except one proposition in
itself--sec four lines above.



88 E.H.L.S. lIay 96
I needn't say how much I felt his going--it was the first
news which the Qarter-master gave me on my return from
leave ; I gather he died about two or three days later in
hospital perhaps the very day I looked out of the train to
see Shrewsbury getting nearer and thougilt how he would
have liked to be with me. He was the only Salopian I bave
been with and I had been greatly excited at meeting him.
Ah yei, those are wonderful people.
To H. E. E. HowsoN. ¢oy. H.,.--B.E.F.
lay 30-3 i, I96.
This is only a short passage on my signallers, who are
great dears» though they regard me as a pencil thiefof the
deepest dye. (N.B. This is perfectly true.)
At the present moment they are in huge delight over
Pip' ; it seems one has been reading it ( Not Pip Emma '
by any chance ?' said one with a taste for the obvious)» and
ke is giving them a graphic account of the Love-match on
the links at the end.
Certainly the present aspect of the "Var doesn't worry
them much ; they live through a door in my large H.., in
room  5 feet underground in terrible warmth and close-
ness with an orderly or tw% and the telephone to "amuse
them when things are dull.
It is very little that I overhear as a matter offact because
have much too much to do ; and also they are probably
well aware they ca** be overheard ifthey talk too loud ; and
thus it is that only fiagments reach me.
 i._ o "clode : all', 'well," calls out one, as I write. Yes. 1
hope it is. My communication trench is ca!led Hope
Street', by the way" surely tLe censor will not delete that
comforting little fact.
 As  P' and  M" are known in the Signalling Service.



E. H. L.S. May i916 89
To return to the « signais'; as we've been a bit quieter
to-day--(stop that foolishness  what is the good of machine-
gunning my parapet I  feet overhead ? Doesn't he know I
always keep awake at night, even when I ara in ?}--itis so
far true to say that  All's well': yet one never knows.
(What is this talk about a  Kim6na', bellowed out from
next door ?  [t's a lady's dressing-gown, isn't it ? ' Answer,
and all the test of the talk, inaudible.) Nothing much
doing : one of my oftïcers (Elliott) has just corne ot" patrol
duty in the froat trenches--I shall be there myself at t
and while he's s, tretching his limbs and explaining about the
M.G. in No Man's Land, I can still find rime to write and
to listen to the highly irregular (if we were in billets)
humming of my H.O<_. sentries overhead and outside and,
in fact to think of many things, 8hrewsbury for instance ....
Oh Man, Man, shall I throw my pencil away and bury my
poor bewildered head in my arms ? It came all so suddenly,
and I have had, between ourselves a pretty bad week and
I thought of Shrewsbury and nearly began to weep: never,
I think, did I feel quite so much longing
as Paris said, or nearly so.
Ah well, it "s all right really: we don't reall do these
melodramatic stunts, you know ; in fact, I don't offen let
myself think of them. Besides, please God, we're to be
relieved to-morrow, and by the rime we get to billets
(they're within easy call of the Hun if they a»t to ring us
up, but they don't shell them or hardly ever)--by that rime,
Man, it will be JvE. And so the Man shall have a blade
of ' glancing grasses' ' in a half-sheet o£ note-paper, with
my blessing. (S»me people might say this point of view
• Seepage 4 6 .



rgo E.H.L.S. June I96
varied : I date say my ' listening post' could do with6ut the
said grasses in the dewmthough they didn't look very
unhappy just now I must say: after all, the Hun is a cad
by day, but during these short nights he seldom strafes
seriously--for good reasons--except when he's doing, or
we're doing a raid or something beastly» which it must be
confessed happens pretty often it would seem though not
here up to date.)
oO
Call no man happy,' or whatever it is. It seems
almost too strangely ill-ted to be possible; but would
you believe that since writng the ave we bave had the
heaviest bombardment I bave yet experienced !
The trenches are messy this morning and the wire is
tired-looking (I've just been messing about in it in the mist;
only it liRed unlucMly) and there is work ahead belote we
get out to-nightperhaps more strafing  I don't know.
To Hs MOTHER. B.E.F.
e , I916.
This rime' everydy is again so kind and sympathetic
that it becomes almost a joke. It will be one of the things
that the bulletin from Sir D. Haig ought to report daily,
so that everybody may know where we are. ' Capt. S. took
over the command of C Coy. 9.z.6." 'Lt. Southwell
handed over. o.z.6.' 'Capt. S. tookover again to-day.
I i.z. i.' ¢ Lt. Southwell handed over again.  z.oE. I.'  Mr.
Southwell retired to civilian lire in disgust. I3..6.' And
so on. But, as a matter of fact, it is not as bad as that,
and it is perfectly true that my first thought was one of
mixed regret and amusement.
I He wrote this on handing over his Company again to a senior
ocer.



E. H. L.S. June ,9,6

To HIS SISTER. B.E.F.
tme 6, I916.
I and Garton (my new Captain) rode over together to this
village» which is a very pretty one indeed, some rive toiles
right back, and peaceful to a degree. The object was that
we should be shewn some model trenches dug by the people
undergoing training back there ; and I must say they were
pretty good. Merewether was very amusing over them.
He imagined a glorious interview with the R.E. Instructor»
wherein he should say,  Yes, Sir ; very nice trenches, very
nice indeed. Now ifI may venture to ask, they would be
dug 6y night, of course, as ours have to be in the line ?"
çVell, not exactly," the R.E. would say; in fact they
would be dug by day, so that every one could see.'  Under
tire, Sir, of course ?'  Well, I wouldn't quite say that.'
 Great diNculties» no doubt, through lack of engineering
materials and skill?" Well, no; we arrange all that."
And so on and so on, but of course what really happened
was that none ofthe catechisms were uttered and every one
admiredin silence And, as I say, they certainly were
good, and contained several very valuable hints, which I
hoped we managed to carry away with us.
And after it was over» we sent our horses away, and
walked into the village and had tea» and waiked back in the
evening talking about Eton and Magdalen and old times
generally.

To HIS FATHER. R sector-Coy. H.,
 tune 9, 1916- 1.3o a.m.
Belote I go any farther, l'd better let loose at once the
story of the Captain of the --th whom we relieved an hour



I92 E.H.L.S. une 96
or two back. It professes to explain why the superstitious
believe the War will end on June 17-
It began with an officer on a visit to Cox's.  You're
going to the Front are you ?" said the clerk ;  you'll return
wounded in three weeks.' This came off and the ottîcer's
next visit was paid on going out again. ' You'll be wounded
again in a month" was the prophccy ;  also the War will be
over by June 177 but I shan't live to sec it." The officer
was wounded, so runs tb.e tale and the clerk is dead...
Very nice and encouraging and so we must wait and sec.
There seems to be no end oi r a lot of peace talk about just
now but that may too probably be only their fun!

To HI$ MOTHER. iJrth Die;isional 8chool of Instruction.
une I 1916.
These schools are excellent things ; and it ought to do
you good 1 think to know that the Army is really using its
brains far more than it used to do, in the instruction of its
more ignorant members. I suppose I oughtn't to say too
much about numbers of schools even if I have beyond the
vaguest guess how many there are. But it is at least fait
to say that it is most improbable that in a few more weeks
(or say months at most) there will be any officers at all
who haven't been sent away to s0me course or other out
here under people with the very latest tips from the Front.
Ifwe can be trusted to reproduce in our men (and this is
the hard part really perhaps even harder for many people
than for me ; for with ail my military stupidity, I think if
any one succeeds in teaching me anything I can make some
sort of show at teachiaag others)if» as I say we can teach
them hall what they arc ail trying thcir hardest to teach us,
we really shall be getting on.



E. H. L. S.
The New House, Shrewsbury
Fcbruary, It}l 5



E. H. L.S. June x96

To R. A. Kox.
i+th Divisional School of I»structtonNB.E.F.
une 8» 96.
K. and Latin Prose.* Yes, it is very striking. Curiously
enough, we had a terrific education argument the very night
before your letter came. [I suppose I'd better explain that
I'm here (see heading), having again handed over the Com-
pany to H. W. Garton» who was in this Battalion a long
time ago ; and being now free to go on  courses' again,
they've selected me: hot too bad ; one learns a terrific
amount, or I think one does» and gets a complete change
from the trenches.] It started between a certain Captain
of R.E. (D.S.O. and all that» a terribly efficient man who
teaches us what you wouldn't believe a possible amount of
t:acts about field works) and myself, following the discovery
that the Colonel (one Swainson» D.S.O., of the Cornwalls)
was an old Salopian. We all three got at it hard: the
C.O. and I against the Captain and a Lieutenant ofthe
Cyclists, late teacher in a London Polytechnic School.
These were all for a turn-out of classics altogether» and it
was very difficult going. Why is it that the only thing
schoolmasters can't do is to defend themselves ? At least
I always feel terribly open to attack on these occasions. I
rested most of my claire for the average boy (does he exist,
by the way ? Tke Times thought he did for months, one
year» I remember) on what old Bradley calls exactness of
thought  and while not stressing the value of classics for
the better peopl% I thought it best to urge Latin Prose as
the most urgent thing. \Vhat these people al'ways say
« Why not do French and German in exactly the same
 This refers to Lord Kitchener's remark that Latin Prose had
taught him more than anything else. See page i6z.
 O



194 E.H.L.S. June 1916
then? Then you bave your exactness and also a modern
Ianguage when you've done' : to which the only answer I
know is that the languages don't admit of it, and that's ail
about it. I ara quite sure that is so. Of course the R.E.
man (who is really, as I bave said, terribly efficient) only
said» in reply to your quotation from K., that be would bave
done wcll on any scheme, and it was no proof.
Oh, and he said that, belote joining the Army and
knowing as much as any man living about gabions (it's not
e'ery one who can put up a better one than mine, by the way ;
but let that pass) and cubic £eet and expanded ruerai hurdles,
hL; onc ambition was to be an artlst. It is a strange world.
He is very, very capable : he is indeed.
It is too miserable about Woodroffe. Z It was owing to
him, as much as any one, that I joined the R.B. Every
one of course says,  What a wondcrful family ', and this is
perfectly true: but his death was not wonderful at all ; it
was just the most miserable piece of bad luck for his Regi-
ment, and that sort of nonsense is no consolation at ail for
his loss. It does remain true that those three great men
made a name in the R.B. which is famous in every one of
its Battalions.

To ms SISTERo I+th Div. S. off L--B.E.F.
tune zo, 1916.
At last the weather seems to have turned over a new leaf;
for this evening, as I write, it is beautiful.
The country is pure Wiltshire. Fisherton almost stares
at me from the little village on the hill opposite, over the
valley, with the spire of the church standing out of the
I Captain Leslie Woodroff% M.C. Died ofwounds on June
lO. He was an Assistant Master at Shrewsbm-y from September
9o9 to December I9I 4.



E. H. L.S. June  9 6

19»-

trees above the chalk : it is whcre  a certain Big man ' lives
(not a very vcry, you understand ; but a Big man, ail thc
saine). And the weathcr's pure Junc : so that is all right.

T( C. A. ALt¢;TOI',r. ,4th Divisional School of Instruction.
B.E.'.
tole ZO I916.
It is indeed sad ncws about L.W. He was of course,
as you say, a man with a vast numbcr of fi-iendsone
meets them constantly and uncxpcctcdly from Boulogne
to  out here, in many Battalions. He gave me vcry
valuable help in scveral ways both bcforc and affcr joining,
and (quffe apart from the çact that he is undoubtcdly one
of a trio than whkh none are better known throughout
the Regiment shce the War) I have always felt under rather
a special debt to him. Can you hOt imagine how gloriously
placid he would be in a big mbardment ? We were all
distresscd at the news here, in this vcry composite crowd
(one ocer per Battalion throughout the Division); and
what his Ioss will be to the Regiment I cannot imagine.
And to Shrewsbury no lcss I fear. Somehow it seems
always the best that are the first to go» even if only by a
miserable stroke of luck such .as this.
This short line is ail I bave rime for now as I must get
on parade: but I thought I would just send a line of
sympathy with you on Iosing onc of thc best men who ever
put on a gown.

To HIS MOTHER. I4th Div. S. of I.B.E.F.
une 24, 1916.
The  village of the old ladies" back in February, where
we arrived after a long journey, and got right into the most
romantic and touching scene I bave struck in thc War (you
O x



9 6 E.H.L.S. June
remember « Remember '7 ° ' x)» would» I think» run this close.
But I saw it in snow andcomparisons under these conditions
are hot easy. But here it is indeed lovely. I think the
wood or small copse rather» within bSeo yards of which I
sit is the loveliest of its kind I know ; you would love
I know. A real picture from £airy land--like so
pictures in war time, do yoll know; many» I say advisedly
(if only because the few are so very unlike); and not only
out of the trenches either nor (neccssarily) during the
quietest rimes. It all depcnds on one's state of mind 1
suppose» at the rime. Certainly my gloomiest moments have
been in billets ; which docsn't mean that during a strafe
of any kind one always bas a jolly rime (because tat is only
silly !)7 but that»whatever it may be» it iæ not usually a tedious
or depressing affai G but something less passive» as it wer%
in the way of feelings ! This },ou can well believe.
No news. I ara afraid this is a silly lctter» all abotlt
myself !

To HIS SISTER. B.E.F.
eune z6 96.
Back to the Army again, serjeant,
Back to the Army again»
as Kipling says. Which is to say that I ara in the trenches,
and also in a house (which might puzzle you a bit» only
don't forget the cellar) very much as before as regards
situation. The first floor is hot, and the roof is one of the
never-was-es by all appearances, and the ground. And
oh, I saw the Sussex at Boulogne, with ail ber bones stove
in, without a trace of emotion. I have seen too many ruins
betbre now in this gaine, and one is very like another ; a
bouse that is no house has too often been an everyday
* Sec page 7o.



E. H. L.S. June 96 gz
sight. And so, when I came ber% I round this billet a
shade more demolished than anything I thought possible,
the whole air rather more triste and sinister; but that
was all. I could stand all that» and even the piano (shade
of Ivor Atkins !) shattered to bits» and the keys choked with
brick-dust ; but one thing was just a fraction too much,
and when I saw it I confess I caught my breath for a
moment ; it was a child's marble» chipped and past all
hope of rolling ....
They are quaint places, these trenches, that wander in
and out ofhouses, and in a way rather picturesque. Summer
fights its way in even here, and you may find your face
brushed with a yellow cornflower, sticking out of the side
of a field as you plod along through the trench, and re-
member better days.

To HlS FATHER. B.E.F.
une "-9, 19  6.
There bas been a good deal of" what is known to journal-
ists as  activity ", and one begins after a bit to realise that
one would not mind being out for a day or two ! A Padre
of the Brigade gave me a Prayer-Book some weeks back;
this morning's psalms are, to say the least, hot uncomforting.
See for instance cxxxix. 2.. * I wonder if it is re'lised how
hard it is to stick to what one knows one does believe, just
when one most should ! Do not forget this, please.

'I'0 HIS FATHER. B.E.F.
June 3o, I96.
Aha ! But you did hot enclose the cutting about  Kossovo
Day '. I never do myself, of course, and it is so nice to see
• "Thou art about rny parh, and about rny bed : and spiest out
all m l, ways."



191] E.H.L.S. July 1916
other people do forger occasionally, l'ld like o see it,
thougb» for I'm afraid I'm distinctly vague. A this Foint
a brother oflïcer chips in :  Oh },es» it's a Serbian thing»
1 3 8 9 (was he right ?)7 wben...' and then a lot of names ;
isn't he wonderful ?
I see from the papers there is a great deal of activity
about. I'm hOt betraying lny secrets» herefore when ! say
that the 01« bas been on the illCreas% though I must hot
sa}, where most of it came from.
Pease make it c!ear that I do hot want a, increase
cbe vo«s of anxiety at all if possible.
But if ever you remembered an}, one in your prayers in
this world 1 would like it o be my ffiend l'hite, .... I
know I do not ask in vain.

To THE MENTHE NEW Hot/sE. B.E.F.
Y«6' 3, 9
Men» I date say you know ; but if hOt» I am in great
anxiety about our Man ; though I can't say where he is or
what he is doing.I had a letter froan White two days ag%
by the way» mentioning the night before the Challenge
Oars. • It was a short note» but very wonderful.
Pray God all's well with our Man.

To R. A. Kox. .E.F.
uly 4, 1916"
Huge delight in H. W. G.'s cellar (which he kindly
allows me to share with him» and ever},body to fced in ;
and a fine mess we makc of it) at seeing your handwriting ;
but some indignation in the heart of the Company Com-
mander at the omission ofhis name. I gave him your letter
• A race between House Fours on the river at Shrewsbury.
White had coached the winning Four in i9 4. See page "--56.



E. H. L.S. july 1916 199
to read (with the warning that there was hardly a page ho
would understand),which consoled him more, probably,than
a fictitious message from you. It was a lovely letter,
so full of the New House from end to end that the events
of the week, which bave at rimes hot been pleasant, disap-
peared from my mind for hours.
Astinol" of course is too Iovely : I hope you're keeping
these poems for publication. And so was Newman's
 Harbour'.2 There was a touch of the real best « V. B ', I
thought, in one place, where he spcaks of the  thick soft
sand, like sand from Heaven'. It is the sort of phrase
which I feel quite typical of boys' imagination : dear me,
that's very heavy.
The Prlsouer of Zenda is good, again ; and so is Rupert.
H. W. G. has them both here.
Good-night, everybody. Pray God all's weI'l with our
Man. Love.

To R. A. KNox. B.E.F.
)tuly 8, 916.
H. W. G. did me a good turn last night by recalling
some of the touch of romance that still hangs about the
War. It is a dreadful thing, Ronnie, and there are few
people for whom you ought more heartily to pray than
those for whom it is a question whether the Romance of
War is dying out. Thus, just as we went to bed last night,
he said,  Listen ! That is always rather thrilling, the sound
of men marching past your billet singing and whistling.'
Good, that, because I ara afraid my own thought was less

translation into Latin Elegiacs of an advertisement for
Astinol ', published by R. A. K. in Tbt Salopian.
poem written in form.



OEoo E.H.L.S. july x 9 x 6
interesting, especially as I knew what job they were finish-
ing up; and I doubt whether I should have done more than
murmur ' Carrying party returned ', and turn over to sleep.
As it was, I sat up in bed and loudly praised God.
Pray God all's well witb the Man, Ronnie. There are
rumours of the Battalion rather disquieting. Please cable
me the first news you gct, good or bad. Yet I hope and
believe he may be sale yct.



CHAPTER VII

M. G. W.

FEBRUARY to Jtr.Y 96
WHrrE landcd at Le Havre on Fcbruary 9, and on thc
 zth he was at a Base camp at Rouen, whcrc he had staycd
in x9o 9. Hc joined thc st Battalion on the ,8th at
Canaples, wherc for a month it was in reserv% to his
disappointment. Three days latcr he visited Southwell,
who was near by.
At the beginning of March he had a chill, and on the
+th hc hcard the news ofhis fathcr's dcath. He came back
to England, though hot till after the funcral. While at
Oxton he found that he could hot get rid of lais chill» and
was forced to get extension ofleave, which lasted for nearly
a month. He visited Shrewsbur, for the night of April 4,
and then left once more for France.
On the 8th he round his Battalion in the trenches at
Hannescamps, and had his first introduction to trcnch lire.
On May z his Company Commander went away for a time
and he was left in charge. On the 3rd.the Battalion marched
from Pommier through Halloy to 13eaumetz, for a period
of training. A bad week fol/owed for White formwith
characteristic self-criticism--he believcd that he was not
being as competent as he might bave heen ; but he recovered
confidence later.
On Ma), I8 came the first news of thc coming attack,



202 1V[. G. W.

and on thc zznd thc Battalion movcdto Beaussart» fromwhich
White went forward to reconnoitre the ground or direct
working-parties. Captain Fraser returned on the 3 ist» and
again took charge oi î the Company. The same work con-
tinued ; Whitc was at Mail]y-Maillet onJune  . On the
.znd they returncd to Beaussart for a test, and two days
latcr the great bombardment began. On July I the Bat-
talion went into action in front of Mailly-Maillet; WMte
was hit in advance of his men; his servant, who had
bllowed Mm in the attack, reached him, and asked if he
was badly wounded. He said « I'm ail right; go on'. At
that momcnt a shell burst near them. His servant remem-
bers nothing more till the rime when he was in hospital.
Though thcrc was doubt for a rime, it is now certain that
White lost his lire in the explosion.
These are letters written about him after his death :--

From an officer in his Battalion :--
 He is acutely missed throughout the Battalion» both as
a friend and as an officer whose keenness and example
make his loss a very grave one to the Regiment.
' You will also be proud to hear that, two nights previous
to the attack» he most gallantly conducted a party to
search for a fcllow-officcr who had been caught in heavy
machine-gun tire  the officer returned unhurt, but that does
hOt render the act any less gallant."
"From another fellow-officer, who, as a boy, had kaown him
at Shrewsbury :
I have never known such a real Christian. That was
a fine letter  of his which West shewed me. Fancy Mal-
cohn talking about being selfish. I doubt if he knew what
selfishness meant. If he did, it was only the more fully to
 His last letter fi'om France» page 357-



M. G.W. o

understand unselfishness. It was that and his utter sincerit¢
and genuineness which ruade him what he was. His ideal
was always so high, and he was never faIling short of it.
His ideas were just wonderful and in the six years that I
have known him I have learnt more of what real religion
means than anyhow else. He was never tired oftrying to
put down all bitterness against the Germans and if he bas
died he will bave done very much to justify in many people's
eyes the idea_« which he started in lire."

From a ffiend who was also an old Salopian :--
 One always felt that therc was about him some inde-
finable quality» which he expressed perhaps most clearly in
his music. \Vhen he was playing one of the more ethereal
Bach fugues he seemed entirely in keeping with it and one
realised that it was his natural mode of thought. And it
was just this that seemed to give him an immense breadth
of view for he lived in a region where small controversial
things did hot seem to marrer. In everything that he talked
or wrote about he expressed views which we instinctively
knew were right and which were the conclusions we should
have corne fo in our highest moments. Only he was always
on a plane which we reached at too rare intervals. And yet
he was hot in the least unsympatheti% for this height and
breadth of view only mtde him the more able to compre-
hend.
 There sometimes appears to be a region» or state of
thought» in which we are no longer troubled by questions
of art and morality o ambition and honour» of personal
adqictions and grievances. One felt that he never departed
from this region but ruade one believe that fol" the rime one
was his companion there.
 I do hot think that any of lais fi'iends will ever forger



2 o4 M.G.W. February x 9 x 6
him, and one of them will always be entircly grateful that
he was allowed to know such a Inan to whose inspiration
he owes Inore than he can possibly say or realise.'
Thesc arc thc last extracts from his writings :--

DIARY

«llonday, Feb. 7- While on leave at Radlett, got a wire
telling Inc to joill Expeditionary Force. This is very
exciting. Rcturned to Sheerness in a hurry, packed, and
got away again to London.

Tuesda, Feb. 8. It was good to gct the departure over,
though the excitement ofthe past forty-eight hours has been
in a way good, and the goodness of fricnds is always such
a proininent thing in crises of this kind ; thc wires from
Graham and Arnold, and from Shrewsbury, and Edwards,
and the coining of those people to see me off. l'In glad
Father came, though I had often thought it would be better
not to be seen oik[ It was great of him.
Southainpton at 7.0. Innuinerable reportings and em-
barkations, dark offices» jetties shining patches of water,
railway lincs leading nowherc a great heartening dinner
ait the S.W. Hotel.Everywhere kit and officers and a
strange medlcy of the Iniraculous and the inevitable. Went
on board the Havre boat at I.I, and gradually to sleep.
The most wonderful day of In t, life.

14"ednesday, Feb. 9" Boat started 7 a.m., and I went on
deck at 8.o a.m. as we ran through Spithead with the sun
rising behind a bank of sinoke and Inist which hid Ports-
mouth and Hayling. Landed at Le Havre at  o'clock.



M. G.W. February I916 2oç
More reportings and eventual arrival at the Base Camp,
where life has become more commonplace, and excitcment
bas gone for a rime. Which Battalion will it be ? The
znd seems probable from here, but hOt necessarily.

Thursday, Feb. 10. Walkcd about ctmp ail morning.
In the afternoen we all went down to Havre, and I shopped
at the Ordnance Stores, dined at the Hôtel de Normandie,
and got news by telephone there that I ara for the i st
Battalion Depot at Rouen. Life has become dull herc, and
l keep reminding myself that I ara on the way to the Front,
that I ara in the saine countr), as the enemy, etc., etc.

Fr]day, Fe/o I I. A rcpetition of yestcrday. More fat
meals in Havre. Ordcrs to move to Rouen, +th Infantry
Base Dcpot.

Saturda, Feb. IZ. Rose at 4.30 and, standing upon my
bed and wondering miserably how I should ever find and
pack anything in the dark, I sang the Volga Boatman Song.
The arrival of servants ver), late only made things more
chaotic. After breakfast we set oit down to Harfleur
Station, down long avenues of poplars which shuddered
in the dark. Eventually got into a train and arrived at
Rouen about , i o'clock, and went to report at the camp.
Simpson left us to go straight up to the znd. It is good
to see Rouen again. It fulfilled itself again according to
my memory, more completely than I had expected. I went
and looked again into the font at St. Ouen, and saw down
in the water the reflection ofthe depths ofthe church ; and
I smelt again the quais, and the street which leads up to,
and frames at the other end, the lonely little church of
St. Vincent. We lunched under the Grosse Horloge, and
1 called at z 3 Avenue Mont Riboudet, but the Mords had



206 M.G.

removed. However, I went in and reminded myselfofthe
dictées, and the dogs, and the discomforts which bind one
more closely to a good rime past.
In the evening we went to the Folies Bergères and saw
a Revue and, what was better, had a fine picture of a
French audience. For the lights suddenly went out, after
the show had been going about twenty minutes, and for a
rime the audience took possession of atMrs. It was either
a Zeppelin alarm or the rchearsal of one. There was no
sort ofpani% but a terrific hubbub ; shouts and suggestions
came from the gallery, and the place was soon dimly lit by
flickering candles, ticd to pillars or leaning dizzily over
the edge of balconies. After about three-quarters of an
bout, the band got candles, and played an overture to some
light opera and 'God save the King'. Then the curtain
went up, and the ' management" announced that they were
going to continue the performance by candle-light. The
leading lady appeared and stood over the footlights, arguing
with the conductor and the audience as to the best positions
for the candles ; and while she gesticulated and appeared
to direct operations, various characters ofthe Revue appeared
and dotted the front of the stage with candles, while the
gallery shouted its approval and its advice---' Ça va tomber,"
etc., etc. Altogether an amazing scene.

8unday, Feb. I. Discovered the Mords in a new and
dclightful house terraced on the hill at the back of the town,
with a wonderful look down on to the great churches. I was
recognized by Isabellc, who opcned the door to me, and
Madame gradually put the pieces of me together, like a
kind of jig-saw in ber memory.. I stayed to tea. It was
ail very good» this revisiting» and they were glad to see
roc. I did hOt see Monsieur. But one rarcly did. The



M. G.W. February 1916 2o7
pcnsionnaires were an English Army Pay Officer, and
three boys (French), one of them a diminutive violinist,
very shy. I played on his diminutive violin the Allegro
of the Leclair Sonata by request, Madame remembering it
from 19o 9.
A,londay, Feb. I+. On fatigue near the ship-yards down
the Seine. Unhappy day, followed by a tempestuous night,
when the men's tents blew down and the corrugated iron
was blown about the huts, which rocked like ships. I
wonder if I shall dislike the trenches much more than the
base.

l.Ved»esday, Fek. 16. Parade again. After being detailed
by a smart Major on a horse, with rhin paper-manipulating
fingers and a high voice, we are sent of to a lecture on
sketching, in a shelter in the woods. Everything awfully
efficient and terrifying till we get to the actual lecture, which
I bave tried to write out as I remembered it. (The lecturer
is a machine-gun officer and hOt a sketcher ; so the fault or
the credit is the British Army's and hOt his.)
Lecturer (voho dravols rather and i really a very amusing
fellov:):«Have any of you got compasses? Only one
compass among us ? That's serious. Well, l've got to
make these few remarks about sketching, so I'd better get
it offmy chest. Of course, myself, I think sketching's very
important--relis you where you are, you know. You often
have to relieve a trench and the other fllow's in such a
deuce of a hurry to clear out, you don't really get a chance
to find out anything from him, so a sketch is useful ifyou
can get it.'
(Interruption by smart Major, "who rides up and asks
«what ,we're doing, and after having the very obvious defects
of the shelter pointed out to him, rides off again.} Lecturer



like rain now.
think we'll open
while I slip off
doesn't go.)

2o8 M.G.W. February 19 I6
continues:  Well, what was the train of thought ? Got a
match ? Thanks--awful, these French matches, aren't they ?
I say» we can't do much without compasses» but as I was
saying, it's a data" good thing» a sketch, and every oflïcer
ought to be able to do one. Of course we can't get much
done this morning» as we haven't any compasses.' (Refer-
ring to Major's recent vis#) ¢ I say, ought one to get up
when he cornes round like that ? 1 never know. Oh ] have
you seen these maps they use out here ? l'll pass "em
round. I suppose you all know about this A 2 3 c i business
they use for rctbrence ?" (Explai»s it rather reluctantl),.)
' Of course we really ought to go and make a sketch, but
it's hot much good without compasses. Now» there's a
good sketch' (passing it round) ;  got all the things in it ;
sort of lets you know where things are, you know. The
great point is to keep it ncat ; hot slobbered over with
mud and rain, and a lot of words written all over it.
They like it» if you can make a good sketch .... I
I think we'd better go out and do some sketching without
the compasses. We must do something. It looks rather
I say, it is raining. Well, I almost
the meeting to general discussion,
and borrow some compasses." (He

' I say, wouldn't some one say a few words about some-
thing for a few minutes ? I mean, the morning goes much
quicker that way. We've got to be here till i OE.o. Well
then, do you mind if I talk about Machine Guns for a bit ?
I'm interested in them. Has anybody done a pukka course
in the Lewis gun ?' (Hands go up. Lecturer talks to me
very OEuletl abo»t the Lewls gun.)
Aleanwhile conversation bas kecome general and is something
]ike this :



M. G.W. February 1916 209

l/'oices among the wtudience.
' Is the Corps any good ?'

' Well, there's that place
in Oxford Street."
' Oh ! the Savoy's hope-
]ess.'
' I say, what did out Adju-
tant say about  ?'
' Oh ! my Burberry keeps
it out all right.'

The Lecturer.
' The Corps ? Well, they've
slept in sheets for a year.
That's a fact. You see their
Sergt.-Major on the road, a
mlle behind the line, dressed
up to the nines. They've
got four spanking Daimlers
per Company. Well, all I
can sa}, is «good luck to
"em ", but they've done far
less than data' all.'
(Co»tinues aout the _Ma-
chine (;un.)

(Overcome ky matter of
greater interest) :
' Oh! Burberrys? Well
lookat mine. This thingwets
me all here. Won't some
one tell us about mines ? fs
there a miner here? Tell
you a thing you bave to be
careful of.' (Tells a story
aout a mine ,whlch Me*w up--no apparent bearing on the
matter in hand and contains very little advice as to what
"vve ought to be careful of.)
lss P



2io M.G.W. February
c Well, I think ifwe all take a walk round those trees and
back, it'll be getting on for IZ o'clock.'
(Finally e all go home at I I
Dined at Rouen at the Restaurant de la Cathédrale.
I wonder if Stevenson meant ail he said about c great
churches being my favourite kind of mountain scenery'.
For it is astonishingly true. Rouen Cathedral has that
saine breath-holding effect upon me as a big mountain has,
when one cornes suddenly upon it round a corner, and
looks up at the pinnacles which look so small and are really
so big ; the saints in their niches Iike gendarmes, the grey
towers by the lower Iights of the town at night like hinted
snow-fields. The Cathedral, from the left bank of the
river, looks over its foot-hills ofthe quais and other buildings
just as Tryfaen peeps out over the Gogof, something
farther away but bigger and more mysterious.
Thursday Fe#. 17. Orders to go up to the 1st R.B. I called
on Madame Morel before leaving Rouen at 5.3o, when
Robertson and I (Kirkland and Billington are to corne later)
boarded our train, a long string of wagons and trucks and
carriages, which bumped slowly along in the dark and
finally spent the night in a siding at Abbeville.
Friday, Fe#. I$. We are there now and I suppose
we shall hear the guns in a few hours. It is difficult to
realise all this. We took a cart from the inn, and joined
our Regiment. R was good to find oneself among Riflemen,
and to find Russell-Smith. Best of all, to find letters
from Father, Mary Arnold, and C. A.A. One feels here
in the presence of something quietly efficient.
,çaturday, Fe#. 19. R.-S. says the French are more
patriotic than the English. I wonder if, Empire-building '



M. G.W. April 96
nations are ever really patriotic. Pçrhaps we bave expended
our patriotism oa imperialism. Puck af Paak's Hill and
the Sussex enthusiasm of Kipling bave always been a surprise
to me. Moved to A' Company, where people received
one with the same silent and detached air of saying, ' This
isn't much of a pienic. Take a chair and share our bore-
dom. Carry on." I heard the guns for the first time.
Rumours of the Man's Battalion coming here. That scems
too incredible. Got many letters.
.Monday, Fe. _. Parades. C.O. came over. It is true
about the Man, and I went over to a viilage z Km. away
and fbund him. I was awfully disappointed hOt to take
him more by surprise. An officer gave me away by tellilg
him there was an officer of st R.B., a Shrewsbury Master,
waiting to see him. The whole incident is much more
amazing than I can realise--that 's the worst of it.
Friday, Fe. 2 5. Stayed in bed all day till tea-time.
Fortunate enough to see a doctor. It is a desperate
business being ill now. I ara lucky to be in Reserve ;
otherwise I ara feeling very wild about it al]. The people
of my billet are good peopleu'des honnêtes gens'
(Somerville z). I did not really understand that even here
we are in Picardy, until the girl ofthe house said, ' Vous ne
comprenez pas le Picard, m'sieur ?'

Tuesaray, .,Xlpril 4. Went to Shrewsbury to lunch. It was
First Day ; otherwise I would not bave gone, for after my
visit last November I have always felt that I mustn't
go again till I have faced things at the Front. There are
man}, motives which have driven men to fight in this war ;
the violation of Belgian neutrality, a very few ; more, the
i Somervilte's Primer ofFrench Gretmmetr.
P z



2  z 1.I.G.W. April  9  6
love of country ; soin% the hatred of militarism: and I
think my motives are hot uncommon ; which af% the
feeling that one's friends have been through this test
and that I must, and a kJnd of personal challenge to oneself
which is the strongest thing in my morality and leads
so often to irrational results, which says  You dare hOt do
this thing ; therefore you must '.
llTed»esday» .,4pril . Left by the breakfast train, and
Mary and Arnold and Ella saw me off. I met West in
London and we saw Jerome in hospital after lunch.
Reached Southampton at 6.30.
_,4pril 7- I was set down at 11 p.m. by a motor lorry in a
dark and unknown country. I walked to St. Amand and
woke up the Transport ofl:icer, who found me a bed. On this
walk 1 discovered the War.
Aprll 8. After a delightful slack day, in the evening I rode
up with the Transport to Battalion H.O<_. I wonder if those
bored Transport men and that bored Transport oflïcer knew
how excited I was. Or the orderly who led me along a
deep, star-roofed communication trench» did he know that
that walk thrilled me as little else has done ?
_.4pril 8 9 and Io. I have been introduced to Wa G and at
present I find him a sunshiny old devil by day and a star-
spangled old wizard by night» attended by countless elfish
little devils who sigh through the air when we stand to
arms just belote daybreak, and noisy chattering fellows who
always try to get in the last word and must all be talking
at once, especially when one of them thinks that an
aeroplane is flying low enough to be hit.
It is hard to believ% in fine weather x zoo yards from
the Bosches that all this chattering and banging is any-
thing more than an uncouth gara% into which one has



M. G.W. April 96 2r 3

been drawn by curiosity. So strange are the emotions
stirred by all the circumstance of this trenoea-lifc--the
rough awakening after an hour or two of sleep» when one
staggers out of a dug-out» chill and sleepy» to hear the
monosyllabic rifles and the chattering machine guns» who
bave» it seems» kept up their palaver during one's period
of forgetfulnes.

.,4ioril t7-zz. A week of rain and mud.

Easter Day, April z 3. A really beautiful Easter Day.
The chaplain came round to out trenches at 6.0 a.m.» to
hold a Communion Service in a large dug-out. This is a
good man and makes me realise w',:at good men Christians
af% when they are Christians. There is a good ' influence '
from him» ofwhich o,ze is conscious at his first appearance.
Not many men could cry out ' A Happy Easter to you'»
with meaning and without any impediment of self-con-
sciousness or spinality. It makes one rather sad about the
sliglt shyness with which we returncd his greetings» the shy-
ness oflaymen towards the parson. At 6.30 this wonder-
fui west-wind day had begun» and I went to bed smoking
a pipe and thinking of father and of many things.

Monday, .,4pril z+» and Tuesday, .,4pril "-5- A glorious
Spring day. ' Le temps a laissé son manteau'; there is a
delicate green on the trees, and the swallows are returning
to their village, ofwhich the other inhabitants bave left the
ruins. It must have been a happy place at the Easter of I9I +.
On a workhag party at night.

Friday» .,Xlpril zS. Russell-Smith lent me E. F. Benson's
new school story. E. F. B. and Ian Hay» etc.» represent
a kind of breezy school in modern literatur% who have the
ideas of the last generation and the smart phraseology of



21+ ll. G.W. May 1916
the present, gin antho]ogy of their works might be ruade
by E. V. Lucas and caIIed  In Praise of Public School NIen'.
Tuesday, 2tlay OE. gi shell burst on a traverse within twent)'
yards of me. I was ver), frightened, and rather proud to
have had one really at close quarters. Took over command
of Company temporarily, as Fraser went to the girrny
School.
lednesday, 2tlay . The Battalion marched through
beautiful countr). Everywhere Corot Landscapes, and
avenues like those of de FIooch, and orchards just begin-
ning to blossom ; in one of which we halted.
The first rime I bave marched as part of a Battalion with
Transport, etc. The pleasure of it all was partl) spoiled
b) m, regrets at some gross pieces of incompetence
on my part.
Saturday, dlgay 6. A good village, and the lilics are out.
Billcted at the house of a dressmaker who
Sunday, d}lay 7, has been spending this morning fastening
smoothing» and pinning ber small girl, who is to make ber
first Communion to-day.
lednesday, d}lay IO. ginother black day, though it should
bave been a good one, for I did an interesting gidvanced
Guard match with the Company and the Company Lewis
Gun'detachment, which accompanied me for the first rime.
The country and weather both very beautiful.
Sunday» d}lay I+. Things are calming down a bit now,
and it bas been a beastl) week, and I have learnt a good
deal. There was a good church parade this moming.
In the afternoon the sports. Wonderful side-shows»
Aunt Sallies, etc. A wonderftdly organised obstacle race.
It is amazing what a Battalion in the field can produce.
There was a Rifleman doing clownish side-shows in a



complete
wanting.
sports.)

M. G.W. May 96 2I)"
evening-dress suit. Nor was a megaphone
The Divisional Band played. (But I hate

We had a concert in a barn at 8 p.m. at which I played
on a very poor violin which the Q_artermaster-Sgt. of
« A' Company carries about with him though he doesn't
play himself.
Tuesday» 2lay I6. A big « extended order" parade over
 champs de manœuvres" belonging to the French Govern-
ment.
Weather glorious» and oh! this place is beautiful. I
long for an idle day to linger under the hawthorn» to be on
the red clover just outside the farm gare listening to the
cuckoo» and to watch those immaculate magpies stalking
coolly in the long grass below the railway cutting.
I4edne«day» 2rlay  7" Battalion parade in the saine place.
Letters from Shrewsbury. How I want to be there! And
the more I feel the glory of this early summer» the more I
want it.
l'4ight outposts in a wood.
Friday» 2lay  9" The hawthorn is now glorious ber% as it
surel), is round the foot of Caradoc. 
Saturday» 3lay OEo. We move from here at 6 to-morrow
rnorning. I ara sorry to leave this place» its duck-pond
orchard» and cider-press; the little boy who leads a
different dog every day about on a string and the other
good people of the farm who can't know about lire in
towns» whose kingdom is sufficient ; the red clover fields
and the orchard where our cookers are quietly busy
the nightingales» and the May blossom.

 At Church Stretton, near Shrewsbury.



2Æa M.G.W. May 1916
8urtday, 2tlay -.. I. An uneventful and hot very restful da),.
One of the women owning our Mess billet was read), for us
on out arrival with a marne chimne)'-piece l),ing in the
three pieces,  exactl)' as it was when we left a week ago ".
It was to cost a hundred francs. If she broke this on
purpose, she bas had a severe loss.
.Monday .May zz. We marched as a Brigade in great
heat, halting for about an bout. At Orville 1 had a ver),
delightful billet, ver), clean, with a wallpaper with little
flowers on it, and a wash-hand-stand. A real civilised bed-
room, in almost the onl)' two-storied house in Orville.
A most courteous old lad), owned it, and she had at
the back ofit a ver), neat kind ofgarden. The men bathed
in the Authie. The people of out Mess billet were also
ver), nice to us, and ruade us drink a large quantit), oftheir
wooden cider when we arrived.
Tuesday» .May z 3. At 6.o p.m. we started again» a further
stage on the load towards the sound of the guns. It was
dark most of the way, and as we got within ten toiles
of the lines, the Ver), lights began to flicker a kind ofwel-
corne at us. Arrived at an unlovable village, at about
11.3o. The men's billets bad. When we came to find out
Mess, we discovered a ver), angry high-screaming woma n,
pushing out servants out of the door and depositing their
rifles and tl;eir  sacs' after them. It appeared that the
servants had come in and taken possession in rather a
cavalier fashion. Indeed, the lad), brought in ber husband
clad in pants and a shirt» and thus arra),ed he gave us
a spirited imitation of the exact song and dance which the
servants had done, his wit providing the music, l've
never heard an), one so loud as that woman. I remarked
that there were  des choses de plus mauvaises '.--Q.  QF_oi



M. G.W. May 1916 :17
donc ? '-- A. ' Les Allemands.'m, Alors, allez les chasser.'
We assured them that, as usual, there would be money for
all this. At that the man ceased to dance, but thc woman
is still shouting,
PUednesday, 2tlay OE+, and has just forbidden us to play
with a tennis-ball in the orchard at the back.
In the afternoon Company Commanders went up to the
trenches, to see the ground for work.
Thursday, A4ay x. Went up to the ground for work again
this morning, with Gracey and Fagan, a weary walk. At
night the Company worked in those saine trenches from
9.3o to t.3o in Fouring tain. Got back in an «uneasy
dawn' at 3-o a.m., drenched and muddied. And whereas
we officers could change and sleep in something like beds,
the men had hot a dry stitch save their great-coats in which
tolie on the floor of their barns, and I felt ashamed at this
unavoidable injustice. With the amount of comfbrt that
an oflïcer bas and must hav% itis easy to love the tiredness
for sleep and the hunger for food that are so frequent in this
kind of lire.
Friday» May z6. Slept till late in the morning. In
the afternoon rode up to the trenches again with Patterson,
and reconnoitred the night's work. Had a fine night and
worked fi-om 9.3o to 1.3o , and then watched tl-.e day-
light come as we marched back along Watling Street
(so says the map)--Watling Street which is here under-
mined with trenches and sometimes swept by machine gu:s,
which leads t?om the trenclaes to Radlett, and so to Church
Stretton and \Venlock Edge. There was a bombardment
of the trench in front (our riont line) from  I.O to I I. t %
and we had to stop work.
During this day there were many turns and much glorious



2x8 M.G.W. May xgx6
futility, and I realised that I ara peculiarly fortunate in mt'
fellow Company-officers.
Tuesday» May 30. Made efforts to get in touch with
the znd Battalion to see Buxton. A very idle day.
Red The &ho/ar-Gilsy before going to bed.
147ednesday, 2Vlay 3 x" I joined the t;th R.B. a year ago
to-day. This cannot be celebrated b t, a dinner, because
there is night work to be done. To-rnorrow» perhaps.
Jocelyn Buxton carne ove.
Fraser returned frorn 3rd Arrny School. It was very
good to se him. I walked back part ofthe way with him
after dinn«r.

Thursday, )tune I. On an all-day working-party, digging
cable trenches through the fiel&.
After haversack lunch I lay in long cool grass and looked
through tle dog-daisies and buttercups, and rernembered
that it was June.
We celebrated yesterday. Russell-Smith and Barnes
and Johnstone came to dinner. Also the C.Q:_.M.S. brought
me round quite a decent fiddle, which I played for
some time.

Sunday,)t,me 4" Church parade. Rode over to znd Bat-
talion. Saw Buxton and others ofthe Sheerness people, and
also Neale--they were encarnped in a place like Sidbury
Hill, with a rolling chalk plain all about.

Tuesday, )tune 6, a»d I¢Zednesday, )tune 7" Worked at night
with forty men on Dog Trench a grass-grown ruin of a
trench with destroyed dug-outs and the ruins of old bom-
bardments--altogether an unpleasant place. We are to
assemble in it on the day. It poured with rain all night.



M. G.W. June I916 2I 9
Friday» )tune 9" Again wet, but a dry night for work» and
we deepened Dog undisturbed, though at rimes I thought
the enemy must see us on so clear a night. They did see
a party of C Company» and shelled with about ten
whizz-bangs rapid. But no casualties. We are told that
the enemy have put up a notice in front of their trenches,
saying,  We know you are going to attack here. Eut you
won't do it before Peace."
8aturda)'» )ru»e  o. Rose at  z.4. ç and had a vely idle day.
L'attaque" and reading. No night working-parties. We
leave to-morrow night.
2londay» )tune  z, to Friday, )tune  6. Working every night
on assembly trenches. The first three nights tain poured,
and the trenches were in such a state as to make movement
very slow.
The number of troops on the SERRE ROAD (Watling
Street) at night is very great, and the chaos at trench junc-
tions, when parties are returning at .o a.m. and converge
on each other, is almost/udicrous.
Traction engines corne through in the night, dragging
huge guns and howitzers. Everywhere we see men strug-
gling with boards, hurdles, and all kinds of building
materials.
Thursday, )ttme ! 7- After tea we went down the road, and
saw a battery of I z-in. howitzers, put in position during the
short hours of darkness last nightmalso their shells !
At night we continued on assembly trenches, camou-
flaging all the work as before, and grassing over all the earth.
Friday, )tune  6. The weather has cleared again., which is
good, though it ruade the night very clear for work, and
the Bosche drove us to ground with ' that' machine gun
several times. But I don't think he has seen our work yet.



220 ]I. G.W. June c9c6
I am rather liking this lire ; at ieast I hate some of it so
much that the good parts are glorious, which is the true
kind of enjoyment. I hate starting out at night, with the
possibility of casualties and of parties going astray up wrong
trenches. But itis grand getting back in the dawn, and
sitting down noisily to a sort of meal and a pipe belote
going to bed. Fraser bas gone on leave.
2rlonday )Curie 19. After my working-party went home at
z.o, I waited for daylight to shew the N.C.O.'s of the
Company round out assemblï area for tle attack. We all
trooped home in the sunrise at ç.o o'clock, and Fagan and
I had a very wonderful sort of breakfast.
IVedneda),» )Curie zI. A reaIJune day ; but I seem to see
nothing at present but a feverish and tired phantasmagoria
of wagons» sand-bags, « material', copies of orders, men
and horses.
Thurday,)eune z. The Battalion moved back to Beaussart
for a few days' test. Camp, instead of out old billets  and
the lady, in wkose bouse we wcre to mess, drove us from
the place with hard force oflogic and much shouting. \Ve
failed to find a place till, at 8.0 in the evening, we borrowed
a table and chairs from the Town Major's office, and put
them in a disused house.
In the evening the Colonel talked to the 13attalion.
There was a wonderful sky in the north-west as I lay
down in my valise, and I watched it under the flap of the
tent, and I thought of many things that were under it.
Country railway-stations, porters, and four-wheeled cabs
came into the picture. A strange picture--but there is
much of England in those things. And I thought of fields
with hedges (the Man made me do that sorne weeks ago)
and of blue hills, and of ail those dear people and things



M. G.W. June i916 22z
under that sky. Fraser returned while I was looking at
these things.
Friday» yune.. We had a before-going-into-action parade
Service» which Laurie conducted. It was very impressive ;
so was his short sermonmall of it almost too impressive»
and I was mo»t awfully moved by it all.
The guns are getting more active. In the afternoon Fraser»
Fagan» and I rode over to Bertrancourt to see a raised relief
model of the Divisional attack area.
While we were waiting to start» a most terrific thunder-
storm» with violent wind and rain--the sort of thing which
they write about in the tropics» and of which there will be
a kid of imitation beginning to-morrow.
8aturday» yune z 4. 1 havejust bcen out at the back of the
garden of out Mess billet» watching the horizon jumping
into flame with our shells and» I suppose» the German
shells too.
The Sucrerie and the tronches beyond are now a new
world» no longer the scene of humdrum working-parties
drawing tools and looking forward to breakfast on return»
but a region transformed by the beginning of the Great
Battle. It began this morning early» quite unobtrusively»
but very steady and continuous.
There is not much noise here» as none ofthe batteries are
within half a toile» and the Bosche shells are bursting over
a toile away. From the south and north there is no sound»
but an occasional flash.
A very lazy day for me» and pleasant. I read and wrote
and rcceived a fine mail.
8undaî,» ue zç. Read Sorley's poems  which Jocelyn
Buxton bas sent me.

 See page zq4.



zzz M.G.W. June 96
The bombardment k.as become more noisy. This after-
noon three of the German observation balloons have been
blown up. I should have seen one ofthem go but when a
Rifleman told me about it all I saw was a straight column of
smoke. Hell is really let loose to-night. I have been out
to the east edge of the villag% and Iooked over the fields at
the murky horizon where the bursts of shell go flicker
flacker. It is clear that their gun power is nothing to ours
now. And knots of foul-mouthed men stand about men
who have sat cowering and incapable of retaliation in the
early days of Ypres and now exult over the merciless
hurricane that is raging over tke Bosche lines. Ocers
stand about in their calm way and comment on the play
and a little white terrier brushes its way among the cor%
which ma), and ma), not be reaped.
Amid this pandemonium it is surprising to see and hear
the ordinary circumstance oftrench warfare. Occasionally
a Very light goes up scornful and inquiring and that'
machine gun gets in a word or two between the bursts.
And I have also been out along the lane to the west side
of the village past the wild roses and the dog-daisies and
looked across the spiky fringe of a battalion of corn at a
quiet sunset with violet clouds that looked Iike comfortable
mountains and watched a hedgehog trying to heave its way
through the undergrowth.

_Monday, .ïeune z6. The Divisional General addressed
the Battalion in the morning. In the afternoon I went up
to the SraCRERt to reconnoitre a communication trench for
carrying parties. I had a good view of the German lines
round Bv, aUMOhrT-HaMEL» and the fountains of earth and
smoke and ruin which spouted there.
At IO.O p.m. we moved to a bivouac a mlle to the south of"



M. G.W. February I 9 1 6 2 2 3
Beaussart, where the ground is shaken by a x 5-in. howitzer
close bi,. I begin to have a sort of pre-Bumping-race
feeling from time to time. Heavy tain poured at intervals,
and the men had no cover.
Tuesday, une z 7. Rested, while the guns roared round us.
¢Vednesday une v.8. Due to go up to the trenches
to-night; but orders came round that we were to stay in
bivoua% the attack being postponed a short rime. Con-
tinuous rain.
Tkursday une z 9. I scribble my entry for the day, while
my servant waits to pack up this little book in my valise.
We go up this afternoon» and this book m,,st hot go too.

LETTERS

To J. O. W/a'Fvs.D. London.
Feb. 8 x 9  6.
Just a line in great haste. I'm off this afternoon I ara.
For France I think» but hot quite sure. Nothing more
committal than Southampton. Your turn in Blower's was
lovely, x By Gad it shall be done. You wait. I don't
think a full Face (do you ?) so much as just a touzled head
just peeping out. The Salopians would never know it was
a toaster at the Schools, and they would continue to send
their boys as beforemand they would be right.
Must stop. This is all very exciting. I wonder how I
shall get on.

i There was a specimen of a furnished bed-room in a shop-
window at Shrewsbury. It was suggested that one might slip in»
and be round by passers-by asleep in the bed.



224 M.G.W. February 196

To TH MEI--THE NEw HousE. Southampton.
Fe3. 8 1916.
Itis all ver), incredible. Here we all sit, packs ofofficers»
dining, drinking, and smoking ; and I can't make out ifit is
tbe most miraculous, or tbe most inevitable tbing in tbe
wor]d.
Nothing to make a letter of--only wharves jetties» vague
staff--majors at desks stretches of water and the stoi%
sardonic, not to say laconic British officers everywhere.

To HrS SISTER. B.E.F.
Friday Fek. I8o
With the use of some carbon paper I ara saving rime by
getting off" the saine letter to home» Radlett» and Bala.
We've been a cool twenty hours so far on this journey from
Rouen which we left at 5.30 yesterday evening. Not
quite the old kind of night journey: the engines make a
new kind of noise now. I complained about this inartistic
innovation to an official and he said it was a new kind of
engine. Still, we've been very comfortable all night.
I think the strings of my violin might be let down a
little :
E string 5 tones,
A » 4 ,, ,
D ,, . ,,  leaving tbem tight enough to
keep the bridge up.

To H1S SISTER. Ist R.B.--B.E.F.
Fe. I9, 1911.
I joined my Company yesterday, some toiles away from
the Battalion H.., where I wrote from last. We are
billeted in a little typical French village, with hil]s all round,
and a Maire» and a church with bells all Sunday long» and
childrcn who say :  How-do-you-d% Sir : quite well thank-



iI. G.W. February 1916
you.' Itis very cold here, but signs of Spring on the
ground ; e.g. a general sort of waking up» and those loose
blue flowers one finds in woods and thinks are violets at
first.
Things here are very snaart. I used to think the disci-
pline at honae wasn't bad, but heremby Jove! There are
fbur otcers in this Conapany. We bave our Mess in a
dank back-kitchen sort of place» which isn't any too warna.
But I expected to go straight into the ftooded trenches»
which is a very diffcrent marrer. The Conapany Com-
mandcr is a Scotchnaan, a Cambridge Rugger Captain and
International» and very etcient-seeming, l've got an
awfully good servant» who says,  May I offer a suggestion,
Sir ? '

To C. A. ALINGTON. Ist Batt. Tbe Biffe Brigade--
B.E.F.
Feb. I9» 9I.
Thank ),ou ever so nauch for your letter, which I found
with delight on arrival here last evening» after twenty-four
hours" journey from Rouen--not that I ana really so far frona
Rouen as ail that, but that the train sat in a siding naost of
the night. I have been nearly a fortnight in France now.
I ana glad thit naost of the delay was at Rouen» which it
was ver), good to revisit. I really think it is one of the
cities ofthe world. Another Special Reservist and I arrived
here in a farna cart, for all the world like two émigrés
naaking their escape--the Transport oflïcers between them
having arranged that we should get out one station too far
up the line.
It was really rather funny, our arrival yesterday. I kept
leaning out ofthe carriage window as the traita crept along,
very excited to hear the first gun, and wondering ifI should



226

M. G.W. February i9 I6

be under shell tire in a few hours, etc. etc. ; and then, two
hours later, I was hiring a cab to take me to my Regirnent,
where on arrival I was shewn rny way to a real bed-room
and then began a four-course dinner with oysters. There's
a srnall chance of out being out ofthe line for three rnonths.
That would be awful, to corne out to the Front and never
see a trench for three months.
I haven't heard fi'orn SouthweI1 since 1 got out. I'rn
atraid I shall not run up against hirn here. I can't rernern-
ber how rnany bookse]lers l've told to send me  V. s '. If
they all get here, there will be one for each oflïcer in the
Battalion.

To H. E. E. Howsol. 1st R.B.--B.E.F.
Fe. ŒEo, I916.
These villages are ail sirnilar, each in a little hol]ow in
the hills, each with its Maire and its church. I opened
the door and went in, and  I then saw that what they were
at was Vespers '.
Man, I have heard the guns going  b'm zrnph'. It was
very exciting, the first hearing. Rather absurd, I expect,
that seerns ; but it was so. It was like seeing great rnen
and saying,  So that " Mr. Asquith '.

To TI-IE MEN--THE NEw Hoes.. Somewhere in France.
Fe. 1916.
Two Men haçe met, not by arrangement of their own,
but by the inscrutable designs of the British Army Staff;
hot ata Base camp, but in the War Area. This is vert
arnazing and should be reported to the other Men at once.
[' In fact, the situation is sornething you couldn't believe.

 This paragraph is inserted in E. H. L. S.'s handwriting.



M.G.W. February96

227

Osbick»' for a week on cnd» is not at ail impossible in the
afternoons. The Man is in good form» but leaves some-
thing to be desired in the matter of health. He rmains.
however, a good man.]
The Man» oa the other hand» is O.C. Company, and is
a Bru M,,t¢. I have heard him giving his routine orders
to his Coy. S.M. and it is a very wonderful thing. The
Man has securcd a bottle of whisky for his Mess» so that's
all right.

To HS SlSTER. st R.B.B.E.F.
Feb. 22» I916.
\Vell» what do you think ? I met Southwell yesterdaym
an incredible piece of good luck. I am likdy to see him
again quite often for some timc. It is so extraordinary
that itis hard to realise. It seemed quite natural tobe
sitting round a stove tire in a kind of back-kitchen. I still
fancy that I shall wake up soon and find it "s a dean b though
the cold and wet a:-e real enough, lt's been trying to snow
to-day.

To R. A. Krox. st _R.B..B.E.F.
Feb. z3» 916.
And so I said» ' I will write to him to% but in inl,. It
is rime.'

I am reassured about you temporarily by aletter from
Chambers» = who tells me you had a birthday lately» and of
your hopele»s omniscience of  Kennedy'the only original

* Riding on horseback.  In V.  at the time.
3 Kennedy's Latin Primer. White had defendedin a debate
Dr. Kennedy's claires to bave invented the Classics. See page 8.



228 M.G.W. February 19 16
classical work. And here is Tke Salopian just corne fom
that excellent man Kitch, wh/ch gives me further news
of you.
Of my amazing meeting with the Man there is nothing
to say except that, if Tolstoy was writing lar and Peace
now, he would use the incident with great effect to shew
that it ii not Joffre or Haig, but rate, which orders things.
He would also say this for two or three chapters, just as
one was getting interested in some charming old people
in Moscow. (Le«tor. « For Heaven's sake.' 21e. ' Well:
l've just finished that work.') 
Of myself there is little to say that I have not said in
previous letters to Men. I am living a ver)' similar lire to
the Man's, though he sys ' Out tea is better than theirs',
but I say ' Look at their tire '.

To C. R. N. ROUTH. xst R.B.--B.E.F.
Feb, z6» 1916.
It is brought home to me that my last communiqué was
from Southampton. Now Southampton is a place, a very
distinct place. Situated at the head of two gares to the
English Channel, and having two rides a day (see the
Venerable Bede on the history of the Englisb Church), it
possesses a marine traflïc second only to that of London,
Liverpool, Glasgow» and many others. But since then I
have seen other cities, Havre, Rouen, , , 
and . Do you know Rouen ? Very well, we will see
it before we wa]k through Shropshire. Rouen possesses
everythingmwonderfu] churches, a fine river, good and
imaginative smells (not unconnected with the river), good
restaurants,-but also a Base camp for which I was glad

 See Tte Patb to lme, passim.



M. G.W. March 96
ço leave Rouen. I once learnt French at Rouen» and it
was good to revisit the people with whorn I stayed.
l've been with the Battalion a week now. We are out
of the line for a month's test» wlfich will be over before
very long. Rather lucky for me that I did hot go up to
the trenches straight away» as I got a chill which has
developed into modified bronchitis ; a distinct bore» as it
is awfttlly dicult to get rid of in damp billets and bad
weather. I'm only hoping I shall be really fit to go into
the trenches. I have a horror of getting into hospital
before l've seen the Huns.
The really notable fact is that I have met Southwell»
which was an event.
Rather jolly hill country this» and the villages have
that French villages stould b.ave ; a Maire» a town crier»
large hcaps of steaming straw» pigeons» and a grey church
in a commanding po»ition. Te people of my billet are
 des honnêtes gens ' and I ara writing this from the store
in their kitchen, which I prefer to our Coy. Mess which
has got a tire at last ; but that tire smokes s% that one
can't sec across the room.

To HIs SISTERo ISt R. B.  B.E.F.
Sat. _March or» 1916.
I haven't written belote ; but» as you now know» I only
heard yesterday2 It is so hard to realise it out here.
shall hOt realise it indeed, I think» until and unless I return
to Mere Cottage and find him gone. He has always been
such a big living fact in out little lires. There never was
a Father in the world before as good and as generous. His
happiness consisted chiefly in the happiness of us, as it was
 His father had died on February ZT.



2 3 o M.G.W. March 19 I 6
with Mother. And now it is good to tlink of tlaose two
dear souls continuing a greater life in the saine path. I
can't help thinking of Dr. Spicer's remark to ïou and me ;
« We think he is a wonderful man.' That was just one of
the little reminders of the wonderful attractiveness of his
charact«r, which influenced people so very quicklï. And
now, according to G.'s and A.'s letters we are hearing of
that from the many, many hosts of pople who loved him
and admired lais goodness.

To H. E. E. Howsolg. 1st R.B.MB.E.F.
larch 4, 1916.
The chief thing about this crisis for me has been the
impossibility of realising out here what has happened and
a feeling of being cut off from the rest of my famiIy by this
inaccessibilitï and the lack of any kind of lamiliar sur-
roundings. I date say you won't quite understand me when
I say this. I don't understand it myself. The last two
days I seem to bave been living in a kind of coma.
I am ver)' glad you got to know my father that jolly week
last winter at Mere Cottage» and to like him. All did
whoever came across him. He had quite a wonderful
attractiveness for people who sometimes F.ad only known
him for a few hours even.
He had a very happy lire, really ; full of poetryMin the
sense I mtan, that he loved and taugl-.t me to love, such
a lot of those things which you and I agree to be good ;
mountains and mountain streams clouds west winds good
manners and gentleness to humble country people» and
good books. In nearly all my Alpine'  moments, he was
hOt far away.
 See page IZZ.



M. G.W. March 1916

To J. D. CHAMBERS. X st Battn. Rifle Brigade--
B.E.F.
$,,ndaT, 2Vlarch , 1916.
I have been living quite a normal kind of existence with
parades, and buttered eggs, and tooth-paste, and all the
usual products of civilis.tion, including a real good 8ritish
influenza cold ; the sort I used to have in IV. i aut this
rime ofyear, when the windows were kept hOt too open, and
my retaper was a little higher than the normal, and my
arrivals in Ist Lesson a little later than the normal, and
the dust off the blackboard very objectionablequite an
unpleasant experience, which I should be very glad tobe
going through now.
We are bi]leted in a village in some hilly country, which
is chiefly remarkable for the public way in which they kill
their pigsat the cross-roads, ifyou plcase, for 1 the world
to see, weekly on Thursdays at noon. This afternoon they
bave had a fox hunt» which means digging a trench where
you suppose the fox tobe, and there a crowd of men and
dogs of every species, flore Great Danes to Dachshunds,
wait for the fox with various weapons.

To HIS SISTER. xst R.B.--B.E.F.
Sunday, 2Vlarch % 1916.
It bas been qui_te a fine day, and l've been walking about
on ' the bill at the back ' and thinking ofyou all and thinking
of Father. (It is natural to think of him among hills, isn't
it ?) It is sad to me to think how hopelessly I bave failed
to deserve or make return for all his great love. Sad, too,
to bave been so cut off from you all, these days, chiefly by
rime.



232 M.G.W. March
But, dearest Mary, your ]etter is full of hope, and quite
rightly. Remember that he almost approached old age with-
out ever being old, and was his lively and devoted self right
up to the end. It is good that a good man's life should be
]ikc that, even though it ends sooner than we could have
expected. Since the War, I bave begun to feel more of
death as being only a door into some greater lire, and
familiarity with death makes one feel very close to those
who have died.
I had always thc regretful feding that I did nothing
for him, and he did everything for me.

To MRS. WHITFIELD. Oxto».
dlarch I, 1916.
I ara so very grateful for your very kind letter. It was
very good of you to write. Yes, I feel with you and with
Jack that all our losses in the last eighteen months bave
given us a dit{erent view of death; and though I cannot
regard it as anything less of a calamity, yet it is easier,
through familiarity with it, to view it against a happier
background and in a truer perspective.
My father was only ill for a short rime, and death found
him as we shall always be glad to remember him, lively
and full oF good work and active generosity.

To HIS SlSTER.
On the train, retur»ing to London for France.
2qprll 6» 1916.
Peop]e (e. g. Graham) bave inquired what papers I wanted
sending out. I should like the 2Yla»chester (ïuardlan and the
Literary &qalalement of the Times (Id. fortnightly). And I
should also be ver}, grateful for any Press notices which



M. G.W. April 96

233

may appear of  V. B '. I ara enclosing a bit of my diary
which I should have left with all the other pages.
Well, it was a fine send-off you gave me, and very good
of you all. I hopc you were rcwarded with a good break-
fast as it leaves me at present.

To Hs SISTER. st R.B. Transport,
z mlles behi»d the trenches.
Saturday, Ipril 8,  916.
I have got my back up against " nice sunny ba, rk, and
the sun and violets and cowslips are grand, l've just been
watching two huge guns doing this in an orchard close by :--
 Whish ', a«dible for IO secs.
I'm going up to the trenches to-night. It's a lovely
day  altogether, liçe isn't too b.d.
We've had a fine Band playing Carmen and TipFerary and
Yeomen of the Guard, and  all t|ose bcautiful things', in
front of the church. The guns, going off zoo yards away
during the music, suggested a School Sports' Day. We
are hOt very far from the place where we were when the
Battalion was in test. I should like again to emphasise
the scrumptiousness of the day.

To H. E. E. Howso. rst R.B.--Trenches.
8unday, Aprll 9, 1916"
I tried to find time to send you a line yesterday belote
coming up» but no. I want to tell you about three things.
(I) A walk» IZ to I a.m., on a dark night, when the +th
Division lorry, having brought me up from the rail-head, set
me down at a village and said,  There ; now find your
Battalion'. WelI, my Battalion was in the trenches as a
marrer of fact; but I was advised to find the ISt Line



z34 M.G.W. April 9d
Transport. So .[ walked several toiles over a high» wind-
swept plateau» and while I walked I discovered the \Var.
For the ground sloped away on the left» ad tae sky was
being always lit up by star-shells» and the machine guns
and rifles and guns went 'tat tat tat' and ' bang' and
' boom' respectively» at two toiles away. l've told you
about that walk because I think you will understand, There
was also, with it ali» the uncertaizty of my finding any one
o'- any bed that night ; but after rousing the watch-dogs
and the sentries at the village oF , I woke the Trans-
port officer, who put me to bed.
(z) I then want to teIi you about the spring day we had
yesterday, at the Transport place two mlles back ; and how
at the saine tire% within a radius of zec yards, a Band and
a 9.z battery played together to an audience of Tommies
v«ith bow legs leading horses, fluttering pigeons and an
austere grey churcla steeple» and me. Then, in the evening»
t!-e Transport officer and I rode up to Battalion Head-
quarters (dug-outs all along a rond, like low shops in a
mediaeval town), and an orderly led me out along a lane
and a communicxtion trench» under a wonderful sky of
stars, to the dug-out where I now ara.
(3) Just before lunch» the Huns shel!ed this trench with
rive or six rounds, getting a direct hit with one of them and
filling up a bit of trench temporarily. They sounded as if
they were coming straight for my dug-out» and I was afraid
where no fear was. What a wonderful way of putting it.
Great man, the Psalms.
It is very hard to believe in the seriousness of all this
banging» especially on a gorgeous day like this. One is
sort of mesmerised into accepting it as a kind of game.



M. G.W. April I 9 I 6 2 3 J"
To HIS SlSTER. Ist R.B.--Trenc/:es.
8unday lpril 9» 1916"
After writing to you yesterday, I started out on a nice
pony and a beautiful evening, and reached Battalion H.Q«
dug-outs at 7.30, and then was guided on my first walk to
the trenches--a very thrilling walk down a long and decp
communication trench under a roof of brilliant stars. In
ten minutes I reached the Company H.Qc. dug-out , where
Ï had a cheerful reception from theother officers, who were
conveniently at dinner.
To-day has been another lovely day--larks singing and
magpies lolloping about over the lines.
The trenches are nothing like what 1 expected. Shells
etc. fly about over us at all angles, on out own and the
Germans'.
A wonderful dawn and sunrise this morning. Could you
send me some mustard and cress seeds, and any other
seeds (flowers or a vegetable due to grow quickly) which
you might think suitable ? Very little ; just enough to make
a joke with in the communication trench.
To A. E. KII'CHIN. st R.B.Tbe tre»ches.
_dpril I% 916.
Ï ara now sitting in gorgeous sunshine after lunch outside
Company H.Q:. dug-out, smoking a cigar. The weather
is beautifu], there is lots to see, hOt very much shelling so
tkr» and I ara in the midst of a lot ofvery new and interest-
ing experiences. I ara enjoying life very much (as I write
now, one of our aeroplanes is right overhead, pursued by
little white halls of shrapnela wonderful sight in a bluc
sky like to-day's). Yesterday we were shelled with about
six rounds by a howitzer, two of which fell near H.Q. dug-
out and filled up the trench for a time. Ï was quite



z3 6 M.G.W. April  9  6
frightened by them, as one could hear them commg for
some time ahead.
I do wish I could express my whole psi'chological attitude
to all this--some day I shall tri,. At present I feel it's
beyond the powers of psychology and literature--the
apparent harmlessness of all this banging and whizzing in
such fine weather, making the whole thing seem like a
game which one has been prevailed upon to play out of
mere compliance with the established order of things ; the
growing familiarity with the various frequent noises, like
the two German machine guns which join in like geese
raising an alarm, when an aeroplane is flying low; the
diffCent btteries, and all the sounds to which one assumes
a kind ofpersonal attitude and well understands why the
armies have given names to thcm like  Archibald ', etc.

To HIS SISTER. 1st R.B.B.E.F.
lpril 3, x9 6.
It is such a strange sensation, waking after two hours'
sleep, during which one has forgotten all about the snapping
of rifles and flares and chattering of machine guns, to final
that one is at the Front, and to stagger chill and sleepy
out of one's dug-out into the middle of it again. Then it
is so strange, also, that after Stand-to-arms an hour belote
daylight, we breakfast at daylight (ç.]c or 6.), and go to
bed afterwards. Waking up belote lunch is so odd. One
has quite forgotten which meal one had last. I was called
the other day with the words : « Lunch is ready, Sir.'

To HIS SlSTER. Ist R.B.--B.E.F.
Sunda),, AI)ri/16.
This is after lunch in the sun and the orchard at the back
of out billets. We had a good Church Parade this morning.



M. G.W. April I916 237
Our Chaplain is certainly a fine man. Afterwards with
two nice fcllows who are officers in my Company, I walked
to  and picked cowslips and oxlips in the orchards
there. The weather is beautifil to-day--lately it bas been
very April, snow and hall showers and a cold wind, with
moments of brightness. We go back to trenches again
to- mor row.

To E. H. L. SOUTHWELL. ISt R.B.--B.E.F.
lpril I8, I916.
I suppose you bave your copy of 'V.B'? I bave two
copies out here, owing to a mistaken order to a bookseller.
I bave given it quite a vulgar putT among booksellers, and
I ara supposing that it occupies a large position in a
Trinity Street 13ook Shop window at Cambridge. Have
you got a Press-cutting agency to send you all notices and
reviews of it ? (' The practical man'--yes ; but you ought
to, really, oughtn't you?) Any one will find you a news-
paper-cutting agency. I want the names of the authors
of ' The weather bas thrown off its weeds "--it's ver),
gooJ tt-at, almost as French as the original--and 'The
Fairy's Story ", please.
I came up to the trenches ton days ago, alone. \Ve've
had a few days in billets, and we go up again to-night. I
expect I shall discover the real nature of War before long.
Do you know, Man, I bave a kind of loyalty to the New
House, through all this, which I believe could become
positively offensive, if provoked.
XVith regard to the Press-cutting agency, I intended to
remark that ' London must be full of them by all accounts ;
you bave only got to walk along the street till you see a red
lamp ', or something like it.



z 3 8 M.G.W. April  9  6

To J. M. WEST. ISt R.B.--Trencbes.
lpril OE'-, 1916.
I'm afraid this isn't really a ' Shell" letter, because so far
I haven't had one nearer than 7 ° yards. However, betbre
I give you any news, I will describe the various shells and
my attitude to them :--
() The ' Whizz-bang'; which cornes from a field-gun,
dose up to the enemy's front line, and is generally
shrapnel. This bursts almost before you know it is
coming, so that there is no rime to feel frightened, and one
says, ' Hallo (hello, halloah, halo, etc. [there are various
ways of spelling this]), that was a shell '
(z) Out own ; which one hears whistling through the air
all the way, from the report of the gun to the explosion
near the enemy's lines. One knows roughly wEere they
are, and there is nothing to excite more than a mi!d
interest.
(7) The enemy's big-gun and howitzer shells. These,
especially the latter, can be heard whistling for some rime,
and one can tell if they are coming in one's direction or
hot. These have afected me unpleasantly ; a series of
them came over, and one hit out trench one da),. It was
not very a!arming, because 1 was in bed in my dug-out at
the rime. Still, I did just feel as I heard them coming
that it rnigbt be serious, and felt like saying, ' For goodness"
sake burst, and tell me where you are '
Now that, I imagine, is the real shell feeling, which is
accentuated in the case of a real bombardment, which I
bave not experienced.



ll. G.W. April 96 239
To J. O. WHITFIELD. Ist R.B.
wlpril zS, I96.
The avcrage letter expressing sympathy is always kind,
but often so conventional. I, who have written such, know
that only too well. Yours was ont of those which I have
read and re-read. Your views on death, I ara sure, are the
right ones, whatcver the diculty in fitting tl:em in with
the apparent irnportance oflife. An incidtnt in the lire
ofthe soul'--that is very good, and really enabies one to
combine the importance of life with the comparative un-
importance of death. I date say you feel the importance
oflife much less than I do. I often wish that I regaldcd it as
nothing. It would make it so much easier to face death.
Still your phrase, ' Incident in the life of the soul ', allows
one to keep a philosophy which values life and laughs at
death with equal sincerity.
So far, the horrors of war for me bave been chiefly the
wetness, coldness, and mud of tlae trenches. Tl;e/3osches
are over r,ooo yards away from the 8oo yards of front held
by out Company, and the shelling bas not been very
serious» and amid much beastly weather there have been
sunny days, when the singing of many larks, and the
whistling of shells and cracking of rifles and chattering or
machine guns, have seemed, ail of them, to be elements in
a gaine which might become dangerous, if allowed to go
too far.
I do hot suppose things will always be as mild as that.
And indeed, from  personal point of view» I hope they
won't. I want to go through the worst of it, though I
don't look forward to it, and ara still in great doubt as to
what I shall be like.
Meanwhile I ara enjoying this life much more than I
expected.



240

M. G.W. April

I have news of the Man, from a good Captain of this
13attalion» who had sojourned with the 9th Battalion for
some weeks. He says the Man is always doing everybody's
work» if not watched.

To HIS SISTER. ISt R.B.
Ttcesa¢a),» _/119ril z5» 1916.
Do you happen to know if any one has ordered the fort-
nightly Literary SuI)pleme»t of tbe Times to be sent to me ?
It would be nice to scc it.
We came out of the trenches on Sunday night» and we
are living a sot of semi-trcnch lire in support (i. e. the
second line of defence). Out Mess is in a room with
a large fireplace and one arm-chair. The four subalterns,
we occtlpy a dug-out constructed out of the remains of
a ruined bouse; most snug» and the beds are grand.
I ara writing this in shirt-sleeves outside that dug-out.
My platoon are billeted in the cellars of the ruined
Gendarmerie. In fact» this village is pretty well knocked
about ; but nothing can spoil the beauty and exhilaration
of this Spring day. Just a touch of delicate grey on
the trees, and swallows gliding in and out of the ruins.
I wonder what they thought of their village the first rime
they returned since the War.
l've had another letter from Mary Swan» and a book
(Carry On) which she very kindly sent me. Also, a most
amusing letter from R. A. Knox» with a gaine of L'at-
taque on paper, which he calls ' Out L'attaque Crner'
--' Huns to play and win in eight moves» à la weekly
papers '.



M. G.W. April 1916 241
To C. R. N. ROUTH. ISt R.B.--B.E.F.
.,4pril z6, I96.
At present my Company is in close support ; sort ofcom-
bined billets and dug-outs ruade out ofthe ruins of a village,
which must bave been dear toits inhabitants when they lived
herc, and still dear to its swallows who bave just returned.
' Le temps a laissé son manteau,' and life is really grand.
You will find, probably, as I did, that the noises and cir-
cumstance ofthis trench life will appeal to the imagination
very strongly. But, of course, that cannot last. Still, I
still take pleasure in an aeroplane in a clear sky, haloed by
white compact halls of shrapnel smoke.

To E. H. L. SOUrHWELL.

Man,
Le temps a laissé son manteau, x

To R. F. BAILEY.

Much love from
A Man.
xst R.B.
In second lineMclose support.
wtpril z7» 96.

I have so çar seen little of the horrors of war ; and I ara
divided between extreme satisfaction with this really happ},
existence, and a desire to go through something really bad
belote long, for the saine psychological reasons that make
us ail want to fight, and that make it so hard for ou to stay
at home.
It is very good of },ou to say' Do I want anything to
read ? '--Nov I should like to read E. F. Benson's school
story, if },ou would care to send me your copy when you
bave finished with it.
i See page x8 3,



242

M. G.W. April I9:t6

To H. E. E. HowsoN. Ist R.B.--B.E.F.
wlpril zl, I916.
There are good rnen here, «vpor,o,', which rneans
' arnenable to turns ', though I arn afraid there is a lirnit to
one's liberty to be futile.
You want to know why they say, ' Shakespeare out-tops
knowledge '. Well, he does, doesn't he ? I thought that
was understood. (At this point the Man would say» ' Oh !
hot a good man '.)

To R. A. KNox. 1st Rifle Brigade.
llay I, I916.
It's all right about the Man. At least, I hope it is. For
Barclay has returned to this Battalion, leaving the Man his
Cornpany» and bringing with hirn certain observations on
the Man which proved his identy (never say ' identity' in
the Arrny any more than you would say' ignorniny '. In
fact, it is possible [rnind, I don't say it often happens]»
possible for a man to be discharged with igomy for losing
his identy disc.) {Or is it). ? I never know.}
That'll puzzle you a bit.
The Hun is being rather worriting this afternoon» and as
I feel secure» more or less, in this large and rich dug-out» I
also feel that I ought to go out and expose rnyself a little
rnore, just to shew I'rn hot afraid, which I arn.
I arn sorry about those peas. Of course I rernernbered it
in the train, on rny return that day. Still it is not too late
now, is it ? I was thinking of having a little garden all rny
own, outside rny dug-out» and have ordered sorne rnustard
and cress to start with, frorn home.



ll. G.W. llay 1916" 243

To nrs BRo'rER-rr«-raw, L. J. REm. B.E.F.
Tuesday, 2V1ay 9,  9 6.
It bas poured all to-day. We were to bave done a
Company marcl b which I had been interesting myselt
about. But it didn't corne otk. I bave a very exccllent
billet her% at thc house of a dressmakers who is always
sewing and bas lay figures standing mutely in various parts
of the room. (Why are they called 'lay figures' ?) It is
morc than usually tidy» and though my bed is at an angle
of+ç degrees» I ara vmy comfortable there. The lady was
very busy on Sunday» with pins in ber mouth and a puckered
brow» getting ber little girl ready for ber first Communion.
l've just had a little ride in the rain. Last evening I gave
a lecture to my N.C.O.'s in the village school» where I met
the Schoolmaster (a war substitute), and I told him I was also
' maître d'ecole ' and we had a little chat about Teaching and
the Allies. (That's a lic- but see the Tirnes Educational
Supplement I4/'eekly.) The school is a single room» decorated
with maps» and pictures called ' La Morale par Illustration »
in which the various virtues are depicted. A landowner
shaking hands with a farmer is ' Cordialité dans les rapports'.
A man carrying a child ri-oto a burning building is  Devoue-
ment'. Altogether» it is a most model school» and the key
is kept at the Café over the way.
We bave a very good room for Company Mess this rime ;
and there is a nice farm-yard, with a hrge dung-heap on
which cocks crow and a donkey» and a dog-kennel» and in
it sometimes a dog and somctimes a child and sometimes
both. 13eyond the yard is a beautiful orchard.
To-morrow we do a Company Match, and I shall bave
with me the Company» two oflïcers, and machine gun on a
cart» and my own ponya regular army ail to myself.
R 



244 M.G.W. May 19 I {J

To C. A. ALINGTON. B.E.F.
.May 9, 1916"
1 was awfully glad to get your letter flore the Chantry,
when we were in the trenches lately. Thank you very much.
We are at present right out of the line again, bilieted in
a charming, village, with innumerable farm-yards, dung-
heaps, and cocks that crow on them, orchards almost at
their best, lilacs, a Maire in a straw bat, and a school,
where yesterday I gave my N.C.O.'s a lecture on Advanced
Guards and covered myselfwith chalk at the blxckboard and
felt sorrowfully reminiscent.
One does appreciate the O.T.C. here, and I don't know
what part ofits work I could do without. Incidentally, too,
I find it is important to be able to ride a horse without
falling off'or getting up the wrong side.
I suppose the Summer terre has started, and that cover-
points are shivering amid a wealth oç dripping but gorgeously
green trees. May is a good month after all. It is lovely
here.
A shell fell within twenty yards of me the other day. I
tell everyboày this, as I'm rather proud of it.

To HS Ss'R. B.E.F.
Smday, lay  4,  916.
Yesterday we had a very gooJ Church Parade, which I
liked ver), much, with the Divisional BanJ playing. In
the afternoon, regimental sportswith a lot of side-shows
like Aunt Sallies etc., and Riflemen got up as showmen,
one of them even in a complete evening-d-css suit with
top-bat. In the evening we had a concert in a barri, with
the Divisional Band again. I played Humoreske and
Perpetuo Mobile on a very poor fiddle which the Q.q_arter-
master-Sergeant of « A ' Company ca:ries about with him.



M. G.W. IMay rgr6 24.5"

To HIS SISTER. B..E.F.
Friday» dh¢ay 19, 1916. II p.m.
Here are nightingales corncrakes, hawtlzorn, bcautiful
weather, and everything radier Englisl, except that the
fields are hedgeless and, as Southwe]l writes, inviting
malloetlvre '.

To HIS SISTER. SllTlad¢y, dl!t . !, 1916.
When ve got here this morning, the ovner of our Mess
billet was l e:dy for us with a marble chimney slab, which
she says we broke last week, when we were bore. I shou]d
think sV.e did it with a sledge-hammer, myself. After a
long sbrieking argument with hcr, she getting in ten words
to my one, I said I would make myself acquainted with
some of the elementar)z facts of the case. She said that it
was a marrer of ioo francs. te ne pese pas.
Madame: « Vous ëtes justement sortis du village, quand
je suis entré dans le garage pour voir s'il y avait du feu ou
de telle chose, et  ah! mon Dieu, voilà mon marb:e cassé
en trois morceaux.'
.,ir. G. /4 2. : « Mais» madame, vus m'avez dit cela trois
fois,' etc.
It is awfully hot now. I think we shall be back in the
line again in the next few days.

To R. A. Klox. 1st R.B.
1 am feeling rati:cr incapaHc of writing a decent ]etter
to any one. Life bas been very dpressing latcly, as l've
ben ve-y incompetent as O.C. Company, and when that
hapFens , the authorities makc it their business to make one
feel like tle boy xvl:o goes a'out perpetually saying, ' \Vhat



246

M. G.W. May  9  6

shall we say, if he asks us, Where we've been, What we've
been doing, etc. ?"
Ail this, too, in the midd]e of very hard work and very
beautiful country. «Nor is the sicklewort absent» the
green-leaved endive."
By the way, nightingalesmare they really good ?
Well (as 'the Men' always say in their letterç, plcase
tel] those Men I ara about to write again very soon, and
please write again, and please give my love to all my
friends in your form.

To Mss. I--]OWSON. 1st Bu. tke Rifle Brlgade.--
B.E.F.
«lay ZT, I916.
I bave been very busy lately, in temporary cornmand or
my Company, and always shadowed by the knowledge that,
if I did a thing well, it would be taken for granted, and if
I did anything wrong, or if anybody in my Company did
anything wrong (which is the saine thing), I should most
certainly be blamed. Ail this, at a rime when this country
bas been almost as beautitïul as England, gave me much
sympathy with the Scout in Punch» who was sent out to
find the enemy, and returned breathless, saying ' The lilacs
are out'. As indeed they are.
I never know what to tlfink about democracy, except
that it seems to me the most ideal kind of government,
and the only really justifiable one. It is the only system
which does ultimately and theoretically lead to freedom.
I always feel that it is a system which bas never gone
right yet, but which it is a duty to make to go right.
It produces bad results, but it bas got to be ruade to
produce good results, simply because in the world of



lXl. G.W. l,lay 1916 247
idea, and hOt in the world of iCact, it is the right systern.
I do agree with you rnost heartily as to the hopelessness
of dernocracy without education. It is terribly unfortu-
nate that the hour-hand of Power should be so far ahead
of the minute-hand of Education. But I don't think
we can help that» except by putting forward the minute-
hand of Education. And, by the way, it is comforting to
rernernber tha% with rnost clocks, the minute-hand also
works the hour-hand. At present we seern to be letting
Education surfer by the War equally with other things.
The saying that  We don't care about Education in England '
seerns to be quite true.
But ail this does not prove the badness of democracy as
an ideal ; it only proves its irnpracticability. And I think
the answer to that is that we rnust rnake dernocracy  work '
because it is the right ideal. If democracy without educa-
tion is hopeless, then we rnust educate, hot give up
dernocracy. There is no ideal in the world that has
 worked ' yet. Christianity is still only an ideal, because
we don't believe in it enough to rnake it a fact. Justice
and honesty don't really pay', because there are hot
enough people who practise thern. There is very little
idealisrn in the world so far. So far» the only thing which
really produces idealisrn is, unfortunately» war, and the thing
called patriotisrn. When a war breaks out» thousands of
leisured young rnen, who have hitherto thought of little but
of how to enjoy themselves, who have hitherto turned their
backs on all that was unpleasant and all that provoked
thought, suddenly discover that, though it was not  up to
thern' to lire for their country in peace rime, yet it is
absolutely their duty to die for it in war rime, and fling
away their lives with heroisrn. It is» apparently, easier to
fight for one's country than to devote one's leisure to



248 M.G.W. May 1916
social prob!ems. That is to me the most amazing
thing.
So far» with ail our civilisation we have not yet dis-
covered an), other wa)' of expressing out idealism than
war. Even the poets who ought to know better haven't
got much farther. Wordsworth sa),s: «How ennobling
thoughts depart When men change swords for Iedgers';
and Rupert Brooke, in his 19 I+ sonnets, seemed to welcome
the \rar as a reIease from materialism. The arts are
inspired b)' war, and in the pulpit it is able to be reconciled
with Christianity» because of the great unselfish non-
utilitarian virtues which it produces. But when the world
is reall), democratic, perhaps peace will inspire us in the
saine way.
What a tt'rriL'le lecture this is that I am delivering. I
hope you will forgive it. I always think that when a soldier
talks politics, it is a ver)' terrible thing. And when the
soldier is also a schoolmaster ! But this is my share in the
very interesting conversation ),ou started ; and my interest
in the subject mus.t be my apology.
We are not actuall I, in the trenches at present, but we
make frequent tedious visits to them to work b t, da), and
night and return to a village and listen to the guns from
a respectful distance. It is hot so lovel), a place as some
that 1 have lately seen, and the inhabitants rather hate us.
In fact» the lad), of this louse wanted to turn us awa),
the first night we arrived, very late after a long march.
The good woman still brings us absurd little complaints
daily, and m), servant, generally the culprit, stands gravely
to attention in the doorway» while she delivers them. AI1
of which pleases me hugely» because it reminds me that
the English are not the onl), selfish people.



lI. G.W. May 1916 249
To H/s SrST.R. st R.B.
7"uesday _May 3% II5.
To-morrow evening I ara giving a champagne dinner in
honour of fie anniversary of my joining the Regiment.
Russell-Smith is coming. The only thing is that we are
almost certain to bave night work to do. Soit will bave to
be apublic luncheon. Public uncl;es are always to somedy;
soit will bave to beto me, as well as my being host. We
shall bave mayonnaise» and I shall make a speech aut the
Empire afterwards. At least that's what ought to happen.
Only, we are more excrcised at plesent about getting some
glasses to drink champagne out of and a table-cloth.
This billet is ofthe back-kitchen variety, but we are very
comfortable. Oh] did I tell you how when we arrived
late at night and after some wandering round the billet,
we round a very stout and shrieking woman throwing our
servants and their packs and rifles out at the door; and
how it appeared that the servants had taken possession in
rather a noi5y t:ashion, c déposant leurs sacs et fisils' on
the floor, and executing a song and dance at having arrived ;
and how the song and dance woke up the man of tle laous%
who, in siait and pants, came in and sl/outed'rtez;
sortez', and then proceeded to give a lovtly imitation of
the song and dance of the servantsto show how angry he
was ? And xve all sat down in corners and on the bed and
table, and laughed weafily.
Finally, l:earing that there was to bc money for this, the
host withdrew, but the woman
Marble slab--nothing still shrieks and cornes to me
{urtherwasdone about it. with complaints against my ser-
vant, whom she calls celui-là'.
in the

Celui-là stands gravely to attention te while
doorway, and I simt'ly expire with laughter.



2)-o /I. G.W. May
To C. R. N. ROUTH. I st R.B.
Maî' 3 t» t916.
l'm g/ad you had a jolly visit to Shrewsbury. l've been
in some beautiful places this early summer» but all of the
most beautiful have only reminded me of what I missed.
l've just been seeing Buxton on his way back. It is a
beautithl night and the trees talking quietly to one another»
just as they do in the midd!e of the Common on evenings
in June. And nothing to shew a VCar except an occasional
boom and a flickering Very light.
To H. E. E. Howso. ist R.B.
une z, 1916.
Last evening we had a dinner to celebrate my centenary
of joining the Regiment (ztst of May really), and our
C.Q:_.M.S. got me quite a decent violin from another C.S.M.»
and at midnight. (That isn't a full stop really. The paper
people put it there.) I was playing ' con molto sentimento'
to the Transport ocer, in the hearing of all his horses.
I suppose that those wild roses will be apt to be coming
out on those fanes near Upper Edgebold and that there
bave been blue-bells in Lyth Wood.
Ifany Men bave corne across good reading lately» I should
be very grateful for means of sharing it. And, pleas% a
1/- copy of The Path would be awfully acceptable, l've
had to scrap my Browning and other book G because or
lightening my kit.
I was out on a fatigue party yesterday» and it was June
the First and there were glancing grasses.
I have just , at ' L'attaque', after a two hours' struggle
and some good deception» against a fellow in this Company
who has been beating me rather often and is rather good.
Oh Lord» I wish I was there.
 See page 9-



M. G.W. June 1916
To R. A. Kox. st R.B.
fun z, I916.
I ara less depressed than I was» (a) on general grounds,
(b) because there is a hutch of rame rabbits in the farmship
in which I am living. By the way» have you got your copy
of the illustrated catalogue of Academy Pictures for I916 ?
That is very important. As far as I can see» there are no
elands this year ; but there are the usual panthers.
I wonder if you bave got a lot of my old IV. t now?
Perhaps some Man will send me a School list.

To HIS SISTER. I st
v.ne 8, I916.
1 wish I could just bave one evening with yo'a ail» to give
you the real local colour of all this life ; the old woman
leading in the cows by the horns» the two tired horses which
bang their heads out of their stable windows and kick the
doors to bc fed or let out or whatever it is they want» the
noise a shell makes, and all that.
It is only just over two months since I came out the
second rime. Serious faults in this country-side are the
lack of hedges and the comparative scarcity of wild roses.
I gave a most successful dinner

OUR SCIENCE CORNER.
Does the air in an
air-cushion go bad, if not
renewed for a period of
weeks ?

Roof of Wales'» with the clouds messing
Well, cheers, everybody. I am awfully fit.

to celebrate my regimental birth-
day and champagne was pro-
cured, and I played tb.e violin
till a late hour.
It must be very, very good at
T. Bay, z looking up towards  the
about it.

I Tre-Arddur Bay.



21"2 ]I. G.W. June 1916"

To E. H. L. Sova'rlwEtt. 

No. t Statement.
Oh Man! Yes, indeed.
Jtllle.
How splendid of you.

MAil o

IVo. z Statement.
Itis, by the way, ver), right that you should bave sent
that glancing grass, because, just about June 6 (the date of
),ours)» I said to myself, « I must write and tell the Man that
there are glancing grasses and that it is June '. And ),ou
replied to my thought.
IV[aH o

No. 3 Stateme»t.
At the same time, Man, I want a letter fi-om you. Did
you get my last» written in some depression (since c!ered
away) ?
Do write (it's your turn, you know), if you can. [I did,
thank Heaven, and l:e got it. E.H.L.S. fful' t6.] \Ve
are a little farther away from you than we were. In billets,
working-parties at night, etc. A dirty kind of lift.
Love from
A Man.

To A. E. KITCHIN. Whit-Sunday, [lllle I I1 I916.
I am reviving my interest again in the European problem.
Do you know» I believe that, if we win, the best solutiort
will be almost tV..e tatu OEuo, because it would only be the

i Who had sent him a «glancing grass'. See page 46.



M. G.W. June 1916 2j" 3
status gua materialiy» hot spiritua'dy. For tie Germans
would hot be humiliated and the large better element
among them (I don't believe it doesn't exist) would probably
 rapI)roche " with the good elements among the Allies and
that would be the basis for a European understanding aad
a dctermination on all out parts to behave bctter in futur%
seeing how little the War would bave brought to all of us.
The greatest victory that could be won in this War would
b% hot the particular gain of one or a few nations but the
tragic realisation by all nations that nobody has gained
anything ; statement ! As for « The War after the War'
and Mr. Hughes and ail that disastrous sort of idea--what
are we to do about it ?
We are still behind the lin% but only a short distance
away» sleeping and eating in daylight and working in the
dark and generally just get out of the bullet zone as dawn
arrives and the moon and the stars and the star-shells get
faint. 1 bave been chiefly engaged in clearing out an old
disus d trench» all overgrown with grass and marked by
shell-holes of some old battle ofa year ag% I should think 
fuil of old refuse pits and wct spiders' webs and generally
rather a creepy unpleasant place. One expects to see the
ghosts ofFrench soldiers as one turns a corner. But the
star-shells of the Bosches zoo yards in front keep one to
realities.
1 am longing for more news from Shrewsbury.

To H. ST. L. B. Moss. st Battalion The Ri.fie Brigade
France.
Fhit-S«nday, :ne x I,
This is I ara rather ashamed to think an answer to
your excellent letter, written to me on Match M-» wl:en you



'4 lxl. G.W. June rgr6
were staying with the Huntingfords near Faringdon, Did
I know it you said ? I do--a wonderful country, It is
a good country» that. (tu»e z4, ) And it was something
like that that I thought ofwhen I lay down last night» and
under the tent flap looked at a wonderful sky in the North-
West and thought of ail the dear things and people that
are under
We had rather an impressive Church Parade Service
this morning. I always find Church Parade a very moving
aiT-air. At the saine rime it scems awfully odd reconciling
ail this with Christianity; almost using Christianity as a
weapon, For while the Church out ber% to ail appearances
makes an appeal to the individual soul yet it is felt by ail
to be an item in the training» and everything is ruade
c approp6ate ' ; all the most warlike similes of St, Paul are
ruade to apply, and  Fight the good Fight ' is of a certainty
this Fight against the Bosches» and little else,
tuze z, lndeed the most tragic thing about war is that
one has to make a new morality» compatible with it» and to
alter ail standards of right and wrong, And it is a great
thing to have instituted the Conscientious Objector, Never
mind whether he is ofthe sincere kind or hot, We bave»
by that clause in the Act» recognised that the individual
conscience is supreme, If shirkers bave taken shelter nder
it» I don't worry a.bout them very mucb,,
This morning I have been reading some remarkable poems
by C, H, Sorley» who was at the King's Choir School when
I was up there» and aftelavards at Marlborough and was
killed last Autumn, You ouglt to see them published by
the Cambridge University Prcss.
WelI I think I must stop because () you won't be able
to read what I hve written already» (z) the post goes rather
soon» (3) 1 don't know what I should write about fuloEher,



M. G.W. June 96 2yf
Active service makes me full of ideas» but incaptble of
expression.
Have you been writing anything» prose or verse, lately ?
Do carry out the c Shrewsbury Epic" idea, which you once
suggested. The hunger for Shrewsbury this June is almost
intolerable.
Now I must say good-bye.

To J. O. WHITFIELD. Ist R.B.
une I, I916.
There is very little to write about. Ail this news is so
hideous from our own personal points of view» but thank
Heaven» with it all» we seem to be nearer victory.
Well, Man» 1 sometimes think of you at 4.o on Sundays»
and there are  glancing grasses" here, to remind me of
Franklin's fields * in June.

To ms SISTER /ND BROTHERS. 1st R.B.
yu»e z7, x916.
It's possible that mails will be interrupted a bit in the
future. S% if you do not hear from me» I want you hot to
be unnecessarily anxious about me. There is nothing I can
tell you, except that I ara happy and very fit. The weather is
fresh and the wind in the West and itis beautiful weather
except for camping. For every now and then cornes a
heavy downpour. But there is much in the freshness ofthis
brushwood patch where we are bivouacked» to remind me
of the bill at the back of the Chapel Hous%  and the Mere
Cottage garden and ofyour own dear selves. Meanwhile
not far away, a heavy bombardment is going on.

 See page 46.  At Capel Curig.



2-6 M.G.W. June

To C. A. AL1NGTON.  tuze OE7, 9 6"
I have had a good deal of news ofthe best of places lately.
Good news of that glorious Malvern Match, of the Corps
Inspection, but also of Leslie Woodroft-e's x death. I could
never bave thought that they would senti him out again.
He was so very much a part ofthe place, and is still. Do
you think that w¢ all continue to bave out part in the place
after death, even when hot remembered ? I ara very jealous
of mine ; and though I know such an article of faith is
called animism or some such horrible naine, t, et I cling to
the idea of becoming, after death, more completely a part of
Shrewsbury than when I was an unworthy, active member
ofthe community ; hot by what l've done there, but by how
much I bave loved it.
Itis inevitable, just at present, that we should tlfink such
things, and impossible, at present, for me to express them
legibly or intelligibly. I expect Leslie Woodroffe thought
something of the saine sort, but I expect also that he met
death easily ; for I think he trained himself to self-sacrifice.
Oh! I meant to say that there are rive officers in this
Company, and three of us are quoting The 14Zrong Box pretty
frequently, much to the annoyance of the other two.

To E. H. L. SOUTHWELL. ISt R.B.
une z7, x9x6.
Oh Man, I can't write now. I ara too like a coach belote
the 13umping Races or Challenge Oars.
So, Man, good luck.
Our NEw Hotssr. and Shrewsbury are immortal, which is
a great comfort.

*See page 194.



M. G. \V.
Ireland
August, 9



M. G.W. June 1916

To H. E. E. HowsoN. st R.B.
une z9, i916.
There is a big attack coming o1 very shortly» and we are
in it. And there is just a minute to scribble a line to you»
with my love and grceting. We ail hope it will be a success
though it will be a difficult business, I ana sure. Our job
will be to take the front system of trenches in this area.
Man, I can't write a lctter. There is much to think, but
nothing to say» really.

To ms FaMILV AND FRIENnS, st R.B.
une z9, 19 x
I date say this will hot rcach you, but I bave asked a friend
to scnd it for me when censorship does not apply any longer.
We are taking part in a big attack, and I go up to the
trenches this afternoon and shall not be able to write agaia
beeen now and the beginning of it. Ail hope that ts
attack will bring us a little nearer the end of the War.
There is little doubt that it will be a dicult business, but
we hope for success after the bombardment that is going on.
Our business is to take the front system ofGerman trenches
in the area we are in.
And now, I just want to say to you all, that, if I don't
corne through it, you must ail be quite cheerful about it. I
ara quite happy about it, though of course 1 can't deny that
I ara very keen to corne honae again. I look at ail this from
a very personal point of view» almost a selfish point ofview.
It seems to me that, if I die in this action, it gives me a
great, simple chance of making up for a lot of selfishneses
in the past. A nd when I want to reconcile myself to the
idea of hot coming back again I just think of all those
* He was killed two days later.



2-8 M.G.W. June 96
scIfish mistakes l've ruade» and I ara almost glad of the
opportunity to put them right. That's my view of it. It
is not priggish--I hope it doesn't sound like that.
It is also a great comfort to think of you all going on,
!iving the saine happy lives that we havc led together, and
of the new generation coming into it
I can't write more. My dcarcst love to you ail.
I ara vcry fit.



CHAPTER VIII

E. H. L. S.

JtlLV TO SEPTEMBER 1916

THOUGH he had bcen anxious about Whitc for ten days, it
was hot till July t 3 that Southwell hcard thc ncws that he
was missing. For anothcr çortnight he was in the saine
part of the linc as beforc, and then, on the OETth, the
Battalion leçt Sombrin, and was at test behind the line
at the beginning of August. For thc last thrce weeks of
thc month they cntered t the land oç the Push', and were
engaged in holding on to captured trcnches, though they
took no part in any organised attack. On Scptember t
Southwell spcaks oç the Battalion as back at test hot £ar
from Abbevillc ; and during this period he was ruade
«O.C. Entertainments', and organised football £or the
His Company Commander was -way on leave, but re-
turned on Septembcr o. On the xth the Battalion
returned to the line, and took part in a big attack. South-
well was far in advance of lais men, when a sniper hit him,
near Delville Wood. He was killed instantaneously.
These are lettcrs written about him.
From onc who kncw him intimatcly throughout his
lire :
« His « philosophy of lire" was very real, and profound
in its depth. It was characteristically empirical, and hot



26o E.H.L.S.

traditional» iii its metkod. He worked it out for himself.
Never would he move a step farther than he could se% in
his search after truth. It was always, I believe, theistic.
Long betbre the end it became definitely and deliberately
Christian. 13oth the Chaplains at the Front wrote to say
he never missed a Church Parade or Celebration of Holy
Communion» unless his military duties made lais presence
impossible. One of the Chaplains adds that he did this
largely for the sake of others» and hot merely for his own
sake. The same Chaplain states that it was by his influence
that his servant was brought to Confirmation.  VVhatever
were the fundamental principles of his philosophy of lif%
one thing is certain i he had caught, as if by intuition
visions which «we are striving all 6ur life to find".
« His love of Nature was pathetic in its intensity. It
was God's world to him. Xghenever he went to a new
district, he used to explore the locality and « interpret" it
in relation (by way of comparison or contrast) to familiar
places at home. He drank it all i11 with his whole soul as
a Revelation of life.
 Akin to his love of Nature was lais devotion to
two tbrms of art, music and architecture: with regard to
the latter, lais description of any new billet was always by
reference to « the most wonderful Cathedral in France'"
or « tke picturesque little village Church "" This form of
art» like that of music» seemed to be part of lais religious
lift.
 His unttinching devotion to dut), was another marked
feature of his character. Wl:en once he had made up
his mind what it was his duty to d% he did it at what-
ever cost to himself as vell as to others. It was often
obvious that» if any such decision hurt others, it hurt him
much more.



E. H. L. S.

 His dcvotion to othcrs was possibiy thc most marked
trait in his lire. He loved thcm (albcit with a disciminat-
ing love) as lais own soul» and was delighted» in lais simple-
minded way when hc saw their hearts' response to his
appeal.
« Finally» thcre was his exquisite simplicity. Ho
rcmained « a child" in temper and spirit to the very end.
Of him it could be truly said» " Behold an Israelite indeed
in whom is no grille ".'

From an oflicer of his Company :q
'While lac was with us, ho was always chcerfifl, and a
great factor in the happiness of the Battalion. As well, he
was a very efficient office,', and shewed great kecnness. I
really think that he liked soldicring ; at any rate, I know he
was very happy while he was with us."

From another fellow-oflïcer :--
' I have been in your son's Company since he took over
the Company in thc beginning of the year, and of course
I knew him well in thc earlier days after the -_th of
Scptember. We all loved him, officcrs and men, and he
was entirely tmselfish. The Company» under his command,
ran srnoothly, and he took an immense amount of trouble
over it. The first experience we had of this push, though
hot so disastrous from the casualty point of view, was fiar
more unpleasant, and all througl he was lnagnificent. If
he knew what fear was, he never shewcd it. I have already
said that everybody loved himthe mcn would bave gone
anywhere with him. He was lcading them with his usual
calmncss to the end. I cannot tell you how great the loss
is to us the few of us who arc left. Those of us who have
been through many things, pleasant and unpleasant, will
ncvcr forget him."



-_6z E.H.L.S.

From a Tutor of Magdalen :--
 I can hardly bear to write ; yet, in a sense, I have bcen
expecting the news. Do you remember the da),, long ago
as it seems, when Magdalen lost the Headship, and the
crew came back to the barge spiritless and cowed--all but
lac ! Ever since I knew that he had gone out, l have felt that
the gallant spirit which refused to accept defeat on the river
would carry him fearlessly through this greatcr struggle, but
only too likely to the death that I sometimes fancied he wouId
almost bave desired--the death most worthy of him.
' Nothing, I think, in all my life as a teacher, has given
me greater pleasure tban to hear from A]ington, as I often
did, of the great work he was doing at Shrewsbury. Only
a few weeks ago he was telling me about it. But 1 know
also, from what he said and part]y from a ]ctter he shewed
me, that in the trenches be had tbund himself as perhaps
le never had before.
 I think w« must not grieve for him. It was a great life,
full of force and vigour and enjoyment, nobly laid down ;
and tl:e memory ofit will romain with some of us to the ]ast.
« I should not be surprised to know that these last months
were to him the happiest of all. But there will be many
sore hearts to-day among Magdalen men, and for myself I
feel that a light bas gone out of my lire.'

This poem was first printed in The Salopia» :--

LAUDATORI OPTIMO.

E. H. L. S.

Players before an empty bouse
October's pageants go,
That now no plaudits can arouse
From you, who lovcd them so.



E. H. L.S. july 1916

13y you unheeded, as of old
Thc tyrant autumn brceze
Vill strew our payements with thc gold
It plunders from the trecs:

Unmarked by you the swallows' flights,
Cloud-shapes, and chinmcy ttmcs,
And fl'iendly blaze of schoolroom lights
On mist-wreathed afternoons.

There is no light on hill or plain,
No sigh of wind or wood
13ut sccms as if it watchcd in vain
To hcar your t Man that's good

But where on some uncharted shore
Fearlessly you look down
A nearcr pilgrim than beforc
To that Eternal Town,

How ),ou must cry aloud in praisc!
God send OllC echo through»
To cheer the dull and dusty days
That sunder us from you.

The last letters follow :

263

LETTERS

To Hs MOTHER. B.E.F.
ul 9' Iz} I916".
White is killed I suppose. Anyhow l've a letter from
Bailey of Shrewsbury and the New Hous% saying  You
will bave heard by now' (I hadn't)  that the thing.., bas
happened '. He goes on to say he may be a prisoner ; from
which I infer he is reported missing and do not hold any
hopes of that kind for we had heard that his Battalion was



264 E.H.L.S. july i916
very badly cut up. He was my greatest friend, and loved
Shrewsbury. The last letter he wrote me was just belote
the push, and he said, among othcr things, « Anyhow,
Shrevsbury and our lire at the New House are immortal ;
that's one comfort.' I darc say it shews terrible selfishness,
but I havc faced the casualty list daily without a tremor for
two ycars now, and now, when I am hard hit myself, I cry
out ! Mure, he was sz«h a dear ; he was so keen on every-
thing, and the most truc ' a tist', in the full sense» that I have
ever known.
This month, or whatevcr itis (no, it's a bare fbrtnight,
isn't it ?)» has opcncd my cyes to thc lot of those who sit
and wait, as I bave bcen doing sincc the push startcd. For
goodncss' sake, don't Ict his one casc makc you think you
bave auy more reason than beçorc to be anxious about my
miscrable safetywhat diffizrence can o»e examplc, hou ever
near home, makc to the probabilities of good or evil fortune
in one more among millions ? But I can symp.tthise with
you, who are good enough (!) to be anxious about me, better
now. Yet do please realise that ont t?iend's dcath does not
increase my risk or chances» any morc than it dirninishes it ;
you must hot let it make you worry about it.
But I cannot bc very happy, cven though I did write, just
befo:'e he dicd, io say ' NOTH¢ matters to you or me ;
we'rc both ail right, in the right place, and wc know it '. I "
still think I spoke the truth ; or pray that I may really believe
it. War is a terrible thing, cspecially latcly, as ail of us

To HIS SISTE. B.E.F.
uly I, I916.
So you are at Bapton, are you ? I wonder if the weather
is what you expecteddo you remember, in Bleak House,



E. H. L. 5. July 96 26-

that terrible bit beginning  It is raining iii the place in
Lincolnshire' where you seem to gct drenched only to
rcad ? One day» perhaps» Fil try and scnd you the nlmes or
somc friends there--gates in the meadows, and--ah well,
l'Il do that later, I hope.
You know I have heard M. White is missing» don't you ?
It is very» very sad for me, and perhaps even worse for the
New House people, stil[ at Shrewsbury, which he loved so
tremendously.

To R. F. BaILE.

Thank you very much for what it is only truc to call your
dear lctter. The little message flore the Man» as well as
some hints of my own» will shew you I knew the possibility
of such ncws was always t'.ere--but does that help ? Keep
his letter Phiz» after you and the Man bave read and re-read
the last lines. It bclongs to the New Housc surely and I
might lose it from my luggagc. The allusions to a letter
of mine I can explain later» if necessary ; they refkr to an
expression of points of view about Summer and War (I
think) whose only intcrest can bc that the Man seems to
have agreed with them- but his approval seems» somehow,
to make them bclong to you as wcll ; and ont day I shall
fecl as though disloyal» if I don't repcat them.
Phiz» will you understand» when 1 say that I ara uttcrly
without an attitude» about our Man ? I mean that» whtn
one writes letters to peoplc who havc lost their sons shall
ve say one writes» I think» purely as a civilian, and with a
quite honest mingling of congratulation and pridc in one's
sympathy ; and this is hot hypocrisy» because onc does feel



2 E.H.L.S. July I
definitely under an obligation and should be gratefifl, and
one is, I think, a little better in some real sensen
 Sanguis Martyrum semen Ec!esiae '.
And (you will tbrgive me for talking so cntirely about my
own feelings, but what else is there ? And you encouraged
me, thank God)surely never more than now I sl:ould feel
that ; yet I an not man enough. Nor» I think ara I making
a silly mistake in regretting a missing attitude, nor doing
anything irrelevant and « posing "- for one does wish toface
some way or other, and hot be caught on cither flank by the
cvil days. It is only what poor \Vilde said in De
about thc trees being all right because they wete
e.pressio». Ah yes, Phiz» that is it; and what if },ou do
not grasp anything to express? Ara I to go on ? Good.
\Vell» so I tried the other extreme  suggestcd to mysclf
that, while I could write to other bereaved peopl% 1 was this
time completely knocked out. But no, Phiz
either: certainly it must be iXro! (And yet,...) Then,
I think, I rebounded from that, and thought of many brave
men, and said I must be stout-hearted :  The Man is dead :
carry on." At which I mercly turned, and laughcd aloud
at my loncly sdf for a fool : for that's ail out of a ook, and
I don't truly feel it. I did think» howcvcr of just trying to
express a little more by saying a little less: suppose I just
wrote  CIEDO ' on a sheet, and posted it to you. Rather a
tremendous claire, tlough» I thought» considcring. There
will be those (yot,, I believ% for one) who çould make it
without a tremor: somehow I feel it is too much for me,
o»paper ; though I tcll myselfhourly it is truc» alone. \Vas
I not almost passionately invoking Hdj and ail the Saints
in the calendar aloud» in the trench» just rive minutes before
your news came? Let us leave ît at that. Crdo quia



E. H. L.S. july i916
impossibile , sometimes ; but ' Credo , notwithstanding 
And that, surely, is ½ pages too much, all about my
feelings" and not a word for the New House. But don't
think, either you or the Man, that I haven't had you in my
mind every moment. That is a great saying of out Man's
in the Ictter he sent me ; vcry typical, because he had such
an enormous influence on the New House always, dating
flore old Broadlands days, and, of ail that, he writes as onc
quite unaware ! I doubt whcther any man was loved quite
in the saine sort of way as ours, or had such a colossal eèct,
with so entire an absence of claiming it, on the peoplc ho
livcd with. That is why I find it so hard to send you and
thc Man the sort of symp:thy I would give years of my lift
to send: as well argue with the church over tl«e way that,
whatever its foundation may now loo like (!), it is really
doing very well.
I will try and write again, and to the Man" tbrgive this
lamest of letters (from ' trenches ' theoretically, but--for a
bitreserve Company ; so wc have more chances ofwriting
and more facilities in many ways), which I fear leads
nowhere, but just stumbks aout. Tell the Man and your-
self that I love you vcry dearly : it is quite true, Godnows :
I cannot sec anything else worth saying : but that, 1 believe,
is ; and I think our Man would bave wishd it : and I think
he knows I ara hot lying!

To R. A. Kvox. B.E.F.
• .My 6, 96.
Thank you ever so much tbr your wonderfully good letter.
It was hOt till to-day (it came yesterday) that 1 realised how
good it was ; at first 1 read it, like Phiz's, with a sort of
blank stupidity» and only after reading them both many,
many rimes did 1 see how splendid they both were.



E. H. L.S. July 96

Ronnie, it is vcry terrible ; more s% I think, than ycster-
day. There is a curious method by which one pushes aside
somc feelings th:t gct in the way (ordinary second-ratc sort
of avcrsions 1 mean ; as to unpleasant sights» for instance)
with an almost physical sense of effort which becomes hall
mchanical ; (] s:y second-rate aversions» for I do not date
to comc ner saying that I shift hcavier visitations in the
samc w:y :) and so it was, pedaps, that I got bchind that
sort of caIlousness, or tried t% for a few hours. But just as
it is a kind of effort» so it lives ; cst;ecially when onc is hOt
moving about and being busy. And I don't know that it is
much of a shclter worth trying, anyway. One is alone»
terribly :lonc, without thc Man (oç whom you» most
surtEL...). Yet 1 find Hcrbcrt Garton tremendously
comforting : one of the bcst of mcn.

To H. E. E. Howso. B.E.F.
)«/y 16, 96.
If I could writc the sort of lctter which I know I ought to
try and send you, I should be the happiest man alive, in
spire of everything. For it seems, somehow, that you must
be in the ver), centre of the pain that goes with every word
of thc news; since to bc in the New House all the time
without out Man... And yct» I don't know ; for only to-
day I wrote to Ronnie, and wishcd ail the rime that I could
imve the chancc oç giving a, ll I possesscd fo:" one day with
you» and Phiz, and him.
Man, hc was in very good fbrm» our Man. Look at this. 
It "s in answer to a sheet of C. z 12. I with ' Man: ($ender's
num[er) 9/) : ) rUI'E 1916 : 3lan" written on it ; encloscd
  glancing griss '. I send the answer or answers : it seems

 The letrer on page z  z.



E. H. 1_. S. july 1916 269
to havc pleased hina. Oh yes» he was in very good forna ;
and itis ail the better for the fact that, a month before, he
had been a little bit deprcssed, owing to a (very typical)
tkeling that he was being less conapetent than he might.
 Since clearcd away,' you see ; that is very good.
I dare say you saw my Ictttr to Phiz. I don't think,
Man, that it will be clcver to try and belittle thc calamity.
One wondels» sometinaes, whcther the ' Loss is conanaon to
the race' attitude is any good» and I ana pretty surc it isn't.
Too naany priceless things bave happened ever since Broad-
lands; and to pretend to drop {even to the snaall degrec
which might be possiblc) this mcmory» is surely a loss
rathcr than a gain. Thcre was ncvcr a man really like ours,
and I think the answer naust be : "So much the botter for
thc mon that owned hina; still bettcr, the naore tey rc-
naember.'
Oh Man dear» I am sticking down ail this philosophy» and
I do hope it's ail right : I try to otter so»etbing» for what it "s
worth, and please don't be angry ifthe ring is a bit hollow :
the tune is a bit shaky but it is the right tune ; ofthat I ana
SUl'2. What you want is a great strong naan, with a faith
like the fbundations of ail the hills; and if I» evidcntl,
Hcaven knows, ana not fit to kiss the feet of such a naan as
that» nauch less to bc thc kind of rem support I would givc
everything to ke, yct I thank God ail day and every day that,
ifever two mea answered that description, I belicve they arc
in that house with you now. Do lct them talk about thc
Man» and what they really think is the cxplanation of it ail ;
if I were to bc shot to-morrow» I would leave you that as nay
very last nacssagc. You mustn't tr, and carry it offalone :
I know what that's like. Dear nae, Man, a havy letter ; 1
almost wondcr ifthe Man's snailing over my shoulder. Se
clumsy and so volub!e, isn't it ? But not wrong, Man ; no.



,-70 E.H.L.S. july ,,

"Fo HIS FaTHER. B.E.F.
.ïuly z% I 916.
Reccivcd the casualty liit. Yes» it is M. G. White, I ara
afraid. I like to think of him» as 13rowning did of Abt
Vogler; say that his million ideas of musi% poetry, teach-
ing friendship are now uttcrly satisfied- and it seems at
lcast mistaken to grieve r him too much.
Ah mc but I was ncarly saying it is a cruel world.
What a wonderthl thing tlae fiaith must b% when it is able
to kccp one absolutely proef against cverything I some-
rimes think that in the Divine Arithmeti G  and i do hot
make z. I mean that one is apt to look at the tragedies of
the XVar and say  This and this» and thishow awfd  '
• 
vhile ail thc while it may hot be more awful for anybody,
God included, for twenty myriads offamilics to be bercaved
than for one ; it is at lcast arguable that no 0»e famy suflèrs
mot% and perhaps even» it suffers less by the thought that
others too need comfort. I do not know but I try my
little hardest to believe.
It is dark and  He is a God that hideth Himself' ; but
a man may walk when he cannot sec lais hand in front of
his faceand arrive after ail  It is hOt only in thc trenches
I expcct that there is snch a thing as the great  Stand
Dovn' and the Great Dawning 

To HIS IIOTHER. B.E.F.
uly zç, 1916.
I could hot possibly do anything but send him* a copy of
Rupert Brooke's Poems» called  I9I+'  because there are
poems about the soldier which seem to me to hit perhaps

i His father.



E. H. L.S. August 1916 271
the very highest note that has ever been struck during the
War. No one who bas hot been here knows, [ think, how
difficult those tremendous ideals are but is thc bctter» I
think» out here for reading them. The only thing I ara
anxious about is lest I may bave given somc one a copy
bctbre, at home.
You will, in any case, know the one that spcaks o'his lire
aftcr dcath ; but I think ç Safcty' is tke greatcst thing of thc
War. I have just been rt'adingit agai, in Garto,'s copy,
and was enormously imprcssed.

To J. O. WHITFIELDo B.E._.
lug. ,_,  9  6.
That was surcly a very fine» and if I may say so, a vcry
brave ferrer. I think you hardly understood xvhat I rotant»
though. It can best bc explaincd by pointing out that there
is a deal of diffcrence bctwccn inability to fccl one and thc
other of two propositions  Carry on ' ; and  The Man is
dead : Carry on.' The first is being done ; the second has
a sort of brilliant ring about it which» if attainabl% would
be rathcr fun, but happens to be entirely lbreign. \Vhat I
really meant was what I callcd absence of attitude a'.togethcr:
one plods along, hOt particu!arly hearty and hOt particularly
sensitive; for somc at least of onc's cmotions here die
easily: after a month and a hall in the line, with a period
out in the supports» one bccomes rather a low order ofbeing
I mean ail but the good men do. We are now no great
distance from the Man, if you understa»d; and life above
ground has been very good for some days" we are « secing
the light' (in a scnsc no Grcek ever guesscd), and a vcry
delightful change that is. Thcre is actually a bathing-placc
in this village, all'd after thc enormous heat of the day a
bathe is very good.



2 7 2 E.H.L.S. A ugust , 9,6
To C. A. Ar.NaTON. B.E.F.
Aug. z I916.
\¥ell we are resting at the naoment in a village : and very
attractive it is after sevcral wceks oflife in or just behind
the line. Any more definite allusion to our place is of
cours% out ofthe question except that M. G. W.'s district
is hOt ver), far  though I don't really l, now even now within
many miles wh«re that is. You no doubt understand?
Meanwhil% everything is very good : we marchcd a few
toiles before breakfast by way of getting a bit of air into
out lungs betbre the heat ; then I worked on a machine gun
for some lmurs, and actually had a bathe to-night.
And so the terre is over, and I know---how well !what
that last wcek has been like. I suppose they came round,
as they always do, to say good-by% though with more regret
than everalas [when tl:ey came to you ; and there would
be the last Sunday evening Chapel and your address • ([
await it cagerly) ; and the almost conscious look of  Good-
bye' on the face of the Breiddens = which (even before I
came away) used to send one's heart into one's mouth ; and
some of us would be tlfinking how we paced the School
Yard, years ag% on just such a Summer night ; and the
younger amongst us would be wondering how the place
could carry on during another year» when this and that place
was emptyhaving hot learnt yet from experience that a
school is the only immortal thing on earth and the only
thing about which ail the platitudes are true and ail the
longings undying.
It is not like that in the Armyat least, I think, not to
the saine extent. Not but that the number of adorable days
  A Conversation': published in Stçew, bury Fable,.
 The Welsh hills nearest to Shrewsbury.



E. H. L.S. August I9I 273
here is hot incalculable; but it is hot quite the saine
story ....
Well, well» this had better go now. Let me have ),out
address in Chapcl, won't you? Later on, perhaps, I will
send ),ou some news, should thcre bc any. At present we
are happ), enough in this existence, wondcring a little» but
gcnerally too tired and contented for more than wonder ;
and, perhaps luckily, we are not allowed too much time for
that, cither. In fact, now I corne to think of it, I doubt if
l've donc any of that for somc timc now. |t seems a trifle
futile, considering how vcry little therc is to bc wondered
at, and how man), bcttcr men havc contrived to gct through
with no wondering at all. But I would likc to sce ),our
address, ail the saine.

To H. E. E. Howsorr. B.E.F.
_/lt«g. 6, 916.
lncredibly good concert in the orchard last night. One
Baynes (latc C.U.B.C.; he rowcd against me) is now our
ii¢I.O., and vcry remarkablc hc is : he is one of thosc men
who sing likc birds, and swim, and dive (WtTta somersaults)»
and do a lot of shoutitag, and arc very good, in fine. You
should bave eard him take 300 mcn c',ean off thcir feet
with  Songs of Araby" last night ; an old, old fricnd, of
course, but I never saw it so etective. Nor any one so
priceless as the modern R.F.C. man: he is perfectly
immaculate, salures ail officers, and drills like a guards-
man. He was much in request at the concert.
Oh Man, The Path is al.ways in my valise ; and I read
hot only the tale of Tl.,e Emilla l¢oeay ([ seem to bave known
ont or two such'.), but also thc story which tells how
' Youth came up that valley at evening, borne uFort t
southern air'. 1 know what that rneans ; it seerr.s to make



274 E.H.L.S. August  9 6

more .fl'cqucnt visits in these latter days. It is the best
book in thc wor]d, and has bcen read by (I think) nine
occrs, in more than ont Battalion, since I got it from you.
I must stop now, Man dcar, as time is rathcr short bcforc
prade. You will understand» this lcavcs me vcry wcll,
thinking cvcrlastingly or" thc place we and thc Man all
]oved» praying (as C. A. A. would say) for the peace of
our Jerusalcm» and in no way so vaery far removed» 1 think
rioto our Man himsclf. Yet hot defi¢itely vcry ncar» either.

To H. E. WALKER. B.E.F.
_//ug. g, 1916.
By thc way, Tloe Four _alez, you know! \Vcll, I'm not
going to launch forth into a tirade about it ; but an oftqccr
of the 6oth told me yestcrday that he likcd it enormously,
and more than Tb.e Patl to Rome. It is awfully good, but
hot, I think, quite such a great atïfair. I mention it, because
I have an idea it was about in your rime in V. B that the
rage for Belloc beganmy rage, I mean ; for, no doubt,
those who knew him round out all about him long ago.
I will not weary you with any laments over }.If. \Vhite :
you know well enough what it nmst mcan to me and ail of
us. It was indecd a shock, though, coming so soon after the
news of Mr. WoodrotTe, who, besides being I suppose one
of the best men in ail the R.B. and in one of its most
celebrated families, was partly responsible tbr my joining
it, and in rather a spccial way seemed to have an enormous
daim on my gratitude.
Meanwhile we are sitting, not actually in the trenches,
but 'somewhere', and awaiting orders, behind. The
weather is glorious ; so is your Icttcr  so are you, and 1
would give anytlfing to sec you ; so is France; and so I



IL. H. L.S. A ugust 1916 27)"

think is thc wholc look of al-}irs in general (whcn one is
able to look at it in the right way, and hot grumble at the
price when the casualty lists corne out); and in a word» l
ara very happy, and would like you to think so !

To HIS SISTER. B.E.F.
./lug. Io» I916.
Meanwhilc, thcrc is your poem. \Vhich, let me say at
once, I quitc definitely like ; it scems to me (I) to be truc,
which is lnore than you can say for somc poctry. I nlcall
th.t this is just what right-mindcd pcoplc do, and ought to,
fiel whcn (as I at thc nomcnt) thcy are near a livr.
think (oE) the metreis thc right Icngth. I mcan: it obviously
ought to bc short» as yours is. To writc in tcn-syllable
lincs, in thc cightecnth-ceatury manncr, is to givc up the
gaine, or forty points of it, befo'.'c you start.
h'm, well, yes. A pedant would growl ovcr ' cause' and
' yours', because of thc ' r'. I know ont man who always
fumes at that, bccausc ho s:tys you arc making it ' caur-r-sc ".
Otl:erwise thcy'rc ail right, arcn't thcy ? (+) \Vords ; I say,
uot 'gladness and joy', because this I + I = O, rathcr,
doesn't it ? ' lt's ail right in the wintcr rime ' (as thc song
doesn't sa),) in thc good old carol, bccause it "s quaint : hcrc
it's either nothing, or a quotation ; and thcr% that's pulled
thc bits of your pocm out for inspcction, but now cornes thc
re-reading as a complete toem, and that's the rcal tcst ;
and if it means the Brook» as do Tcnnyson's and Kingslcy's
efforts in thc samc linc, surcly it's a p..)cm worth writing.
And to me» it does mcan thc Brook, and thcrc you arc.
This is rathcr a long criticism : is it thc sort of thing you
wanted, I wondcr? Oh, I say, there's only one more
thing, and t]:at is whcther you could bave ruade it a little
more jtt the e»e brook you've got your cye on. This covers
T x



276 E.H.L.S. August 1916
ail brooks, and perhaps that's better ; but my own opinion,
if you want it, is that, if you'd pinned it down fast to one
brook, with two wee lines» only, to make it stand out, it
would havc ruade it even more vivid. Yct, as l've already
said, it does bring out the brook very, very clearly, even
as it is. Dear me, this is too long, and I must get to
business.

To lqs FATHER. B.E.F.
.//llg. I I: I9IŒEE.
This morning I was alone ; so I went along the river
bank, and ruade a h;ghly importa»t dlscovery, which is that
the F.S. Post Ca,d makes a capital aoat in skilful hands like
yours or mine. I put one afloat this moming, within
twcnty yards of a huge artillery camp on the bank, but hOt
in the least abashed by tl:e watchful eyes of one or two
inquisitive gunners at their case on the bank. I put her
well out, and with a poke from a stick o she went. All
went wcll (this was a rery important voyage, and you must
forgive me if I dwell on it rather lengthity) for quite a long
time; it was necessary to throw one big stone into a
shallow, to prevent ber coming to rest much too soon.
And there was a certain home-sick look about her (perhaps
she caught it fi-om her designer), which was a little too apt
to make ner aire at unexpectcd little harbours on the way
down. With this exception, however, she did well, and it
was no fault of hers that she did go right down to join
the  Oh dear, here's the Censor again ; one can't
even run one's private navigation without being careful.
What stopped her, after what wou!d bave bcen at Bapton a
very good run of some htmdreds of fect, was a regular forest
ofthick weeds on a corner, into which she not on!)" butted,
and waited some rime, but actually slid right into a little



wave, which
later. And
fully cxpect.
Yes, that
Cmiously it

E. H. L.S. August I916

!77

opened a passage for her, and closed hcr in
thcre she lies, and will lie for a long timc, as I
Not a bad trip, though, by any mcans.
is right" /. IXpqxv¢re «; rv "
is thGfar casicr in a less easy pcriod than in

what we call a ' cushy" onc. In thc Ypres days ' twenty-
four hours out ' was a tlfing to look forward to, and down
in out last place a ,week out secmed short ! So I fully hopc
it will be, hcre: in tact, I know it is so. One says to
onesclf that it is silly even to thi»k of anything tmplcasant
till we gct to So-and-so at the carlicst, and there onc stops 
at least, I think so.

To HIS MOTHER. B.E.F.
//ug. I4, 1916.
This will reach you too late to be a proper birthday
lctter. I had hopcd to writc two days ago, but it couldn't
be done. But, at any rate, let roc now scnd all my vcry
best love and prayers, and wish you man I happ), retur of
the day.
I think, ifit must once be granted that I ara to be away
at all, you would agree that this, of ail places on earth, is
the most wondcrful for me to be in. I must hOt, I suppose,
describe it at al/yet, though a bit later I see no reason why
at least a general outline, without names, should hOt be
given of what to me has been the most incredibly beautififl
and thrilling thing I have ever seen on earth.
We are hOt in the line as I write. I ara sitting on an
inverted biscuit tin (my bath !), and what I see looks rather
like the Great Orme's Head on a crowded day. Ah, it is
wonderfifl, wonderful ; everything that one had dreamed of.
• . . \Vell, I will tell you more about it later. Meanwhile,



z78 E.H.L.S. August i916
there is no doubt 1 ara portentous]y pleased with evtry-
thing I ste and .hear (if you understand), and highly fit
and happy.

To MRs. RF.ID. B.E.F.
../lltg. I Ji.  1916.
This littlc linc I hae meant to write for a very long
timc, and now that Capt. Wihner has your address to
givc m% as I have just found I will write at once ; only
saying that neither that nor any other cxcuse (such as our
occupations fol instancc) is really any rcason, I fear, for
my delay.
Schoolmasters are nanow-minded crcatures, I ana told
(be wasn't !) and this» perhaps» explains the kind of
jcalousy which makes me sometirnes fecl that »0»e can
miss Malcohn morc than I do- somctimes I am good
enough to make a generous cxception in favour of his
family and of the New Hous% but hot always even
of them. It is absurd» of cours% for do I hot know
perfectly well how enormously (morc than any man I ever
knew; it is not, obviously true of everybody, however
much it eught to be) he loved his aih folk" and his home,
and was constantly talking of you all ? This and that he
would mean to do when he got homc for the holidays» just
as he used to wl.en he was a èoy : it was good to hear him.
Ycs I do know rcally how sad a blow it must be to you ail.
Ah but I have seen his lettcr written just before the
advance» and it is wonderfifl is it hot ? I have good reason
to know of one friend of his, who walked over some lately
German trenches; with what thought, I leave you to imagine.
I do not know, myself, whcre he fell ; but it is no idle say-
ing as I may Ferhaps explain later, if I ttll you how surcly
every tree, and village, and trench speak of him and his



E. H. L.S. August 1916 279
achievement to me» as I pass by .... A most wonderful
letter» surely and so typical of him: it is, indeed» an
inspiration to any soldier that reads it. But more im-
portant than all is the great Fact that he was petfectly
happy about it allmand "wl, oever could imagine he would be
otherwise ?and that for him tl:ere is nothing bt, t a frenzy
of congratulatio% even of envy» though for us therc's
always the almost intolerable blank. I can say that» now :
I could hot feel it a month ag% when it was too new.
But now (in a tiny little degree) I seem to think I guess
the way he went, and with what colossal triumph and
shouting he really ought to be grccted !
Yes but that is casily produced her% that sense of
immense success in his doings, and of a wildly inimitable
and chall«nging example to us others; but for you it
cannot be quite tl:e saine. A Ictter like this cannot,
however light-leaded (a the moment) its writer really
consist of nothing but a beating of the drums! And I do
ask you to belicve that I most deep'.y sympathise with you 
most dceply and most easily in the loss of your dear
brothcr and my fri«nd. No: in spire of those last two
words, I am not going to be jcalous any longer! Only
very sorry for you ail» and hoping most dcvoutly for your
comfort.

To H. E. E. HowsoN.
.,,4ug. 8 96.
We go up into the trenches to-morro% so l've not time
tbr a very long letter. One can I think, tcel moe quietly
and happily about our dear Man now ; at least I feel much
happier than at first. I think his wonderful letter must
lead that way. Out bit of the line will not be what is
known as a soft job though our present intentions after



28o E.H.L.S. August I 9 I6
arrival are somewhat doubtful. But I would like )ou to
think I'm fit and well and happy, and not to be anxious
at all.
To HIS SISTERo B.E.F.
lug. 187 I916.
Latcly we bave beçn seeing  Punchcs '7 and  Bairns-
fathers '7 and things galore, though I don't think it's very
likely that we shall be quite so comfy tbr ncxt wcek. \Ve
af% in fact 7 going into the trenches to-morrow, and we
know that it will hot be what is callcd a 'cushy' job.
More than that we do not know, just at prescnt ; but  keep
up your best courage ', as the dear 7 dear, patient, and little
understood, and most adorable Riflemen say in the simple
letters home which I bave c«nsorcd and scnd with mine.
To C. A. ALINGTON. B.E.F.
Thank you enormously for your letter and for the copy
of The Salopian. I needn't say 7 what every one must have
said when they heard it, how wonderful I thought your two
addresscs.* I liked hugely the definition of Education : it
seemed exactly to combine the two sidcs of the thing ; so
that neither the Philistine hero ,tbr ail his merits) nor the
mere artist can quite claire perfection ; a sort of Goliath-
Léon Berthelini character (is that the naine of the man ha
 Providence and the Guitar' ? = I mean bim, anyway) is 7 I
suppos% tolerabl% but hot either a!one.
To ms FATHER. B..E.F.
Aug. z87 I916.
I cxpcct you'ld like some horrors before long!! I darc
say I can give you somc ont day 7 but it doe»n't seem par-
* « A Conversation' : published in Sbrewsbury Fabls.
- In New --qrabian Arigbts.



E H.L.S. Septembcr xgx6 z8

ticularly necessary. There is nothing so very romantic over
the rcmains of brave men blown to every kind of bits wceks
ag% as to make them worth remembering too mucl b nor in
recollcctions of thc saine thing happcning to one's own
peoplc in onc's trench» though» so far» ordy in a mildcr
degrcc as regards numbcrs. Oh! but thc R.A.M.C.!
Thcy are wondcrful. Seventy-six hours' carrying without
sleep one party had. And Fil ncver forget aftcr my
corporal (I call him « mine ') was killcd» how» on a call tbr
stretchcr-bcarers» four came doubli»g towards the cxposed
place» atad 1 had to shout them back» ail but on% thc others
bcing nccdlcssly exposcd. That arrival nearly broke me
down altogcther.
It is a WOlqDV.'VL world, you know!!

To s IIorHER. B.E.F.
Septe»tber ,  9  6.
I ara now (for a considcrablc pcriod, probably ; pcrhaps--
wcll, no ; but anyway a good long rcst, I can sa),; during
which ),ou nccd not bave thc least anxicty thcrcforc !)right,
right back, sevcral mlles behind thc most bcautiful cathcdral
I know, which I hope, if l'm lucky, 1 ma), see again soon»
at closer range than the railway.
We are quite exhaustcd. After a terrible forty-cight
hours'.(on and off) bombardmcnt of varying dcgrccs in
trcnches» we came out and marched to bivouac in reserve.
I went dcad off to sleep scveral timcs on the road and
bumped into the man ahcad! Comic» that ; but at the
rime I was hot happy» becausc I was so donc that it was
a strugglc to get in at ail. This was ont of the few times
l've been so done that I had difficulty in keeping going,
and it is, I supposc, rather a gooJ thing for people who



28z E.H. L,.S. September 96
are as a rulc reaso»ably strong, at any rate to bc really
« done' occasionally--(not, of course, that l've becn out
here eleven lnonths without tqnding out; but seldom, ifever,
was I so tircd as last night) : it keeps them mindful of what
sort of task is suitablc for the smaller, and pcrhaps weaker,
among thc mon.
\Vell, I will write to-morrow some more about thc things
wc've been through. At pr¢sent, thcre's no nccd to say
more than that therc has been indecd good cause to thank
God for the cvcnts of the last three weeks.'

To C. A. ALINGTON. Sept, I: 96.
It would hot bc justice to our own pcoplc hot to point out
that wc were gloriously miserable up there, and had the most
beat[y rime, thank you! That wood, with its horrible
battle signs, was indeed no joy-party • and it scems likely
to remain an oftènce before God and man for a long, long
rime, for it is hOt casy to see how to nend mattcrs under
present conditions. Yet cvcn so, in one's betttr moments,
v«hen not too ¢done', one could sce it was al/vcry glorious,
and even from the horrorsnothing very new, only so
ubiquitous--that were al/around it was hot hard to catch
ome sknder inspiration .... Well, well.
And now here we arc, right, right back, mlles ri'oto any-
wherethough the most lovdy cathedral on carth (I think)
is within a day's match. And we find we arc firther from
shops and civilisation than cverit is thirty odd days now
since we saw a shopand in spite of being happy enough
(as we ought to be : the last forty-eight hours' bombardment
left me unhurt, but lit by little pieces literally a dozcn
rimes, I should think ; only filling stuWon the clothes or
' Spent in trenches by Delville Wood.



E. H. L.S. Scptember 1916 OE 8 _
helmct and only a fcw nasty jars» eally which but for the
helmet would» I think havc done for me but my dug-out
was broken in over me once andwell» in Fact [ was ver)"
lucky though the whole of a very long and tedious bit oç
crumping ; that's al! really).As [ was saying instead of
being happy to be aliv% we're already strafing' at aot
having ordered things to read (and so forthsee below) and
il1 fact» to put it plainly--could you be so vey good as to
send me out something? I don't a bit know what but ['m
getting horribly stupid and inorant of everythin: bas
nobody written a book ]ately which one ought to rcad ?
(That's rather drcadful» but I can say that»as l'm so
notorious!y not a seekcr a'tcr books that are qn the s,im'
so to speakwithout being misunderstood !) Hasn't some-
body written somcthing like tl',ose Ho«se»zster's Letter
lately or some pedagogic work ? And all this panicking
about educatien that goes on in Tbe Time  do tell m%
when you next writ% where xve are. One would think»
fi-om the way people talk that there would be no Eng-
! -
land as we knew it at all after the War.O indeed»
anything printed would be simply pounccd upon out ht re
you can't imagine low mentally starved one gets and all
without any particular reason if one would once make up
one's mind to the prospect of treating books as what thc
Army calls  consumable stoes'; I mean of gctting a book
out and hot ri»diîg leaving it behind in billtts. Ah if
every one did that ! For we had to send home practically
everything we owned lately to g¢t hggage down to weight.
Ther% l've got that grievance off l've said much the
same thing to my people too. It's all olle's fault fol" hot
asking sooner  so is the absolute starvation which secms to
threaten one's religious attitude out here--unless one is
already one of the great ones. Then again wc bear a few



284 E.H.L.S. Septembcr x9 6
serinons--about onc a month» perhaps ; hot more than a
handful» ever since I came out ; and not till to-day have
I written home to ask for something to read to keep one's
soul alivc. Onc's so appallingly stupid, that's ail : itis easy
to arrange bctter, really.
I said I would explain ' and so forfl '» just now. It means
l've bcen madc sort of O.C. Entertainments (!) for our
rest period» and ara too blank to be able to think ofanything
clever bcyond football and conccrts--  and so forth '» and
it's ail very vague and unsatisfactory. And in fact as l've
hOt had any proper night's slecp t'or ages» I'm writing
drivel which should never have been begun» and had better
go to bcd.
PS. Do scnd me a sermon lcttcr : l'm surc that's what
I want. A kind of religious Broadsheet» you know ; they
ARE WANTED ]

To HIS FATHER. B.E.F.
8qotember 6» 191 6.
This first visit to the wood was the most unplcasant timc
wc have had» in some ways» which is consoling--now it's
over ! !
Out casualties, owing to the vigorous digging which the
men put in, wcre quite small. One rather tragic figur%
though he was brave enoagh» and only rather badly shaken»
was Wallis» our comic singer» who had certainly had as bad
a rime as most others among the mon.
It was in the rccreation room at Arras» in the » that
hc tirst came out strong as a humorist ; and to sce the poor
fellow scarcd badlyand no wonder--during these later
days of our trip» was sad for any one who remembered his



E. H. L. &

impcrsonation of that
Toreador, or his song
beet ' :

September x 9 * 6 2 8 y
iratt husband in search of the
 Leetlc by leetle, and beet by

I am hot fishing, though here I sit"
l'm only drowning a worm in it
Little by littl% and bit by bit.

Ail of which» of course» was rcproduced at 
quite nncmorable starlit conccrt in thc orchard.
will no doubt rcvive him ....

, at that
Still, a rest

Horrors ? Well, ycs, 1 suppose so; but therc sccms
no useful purposc in rccalling thcm. Evcn from the most
lanncntable remains of brave nnen blown to cvcry sort or
bits, and accusingly unburied bcneath the stars, it was hot hard
to catch a rather obvious inspiration. Thcre is some rather
grinn tale of a certain hand protruding through the parapet
(such as you may see withcred and bcckoning, and not
ghastly at ail, near the more drcadful vallcy of Tophet,
which lies to the west, nearcr the village's brick-dust) in
sonne t renches far away fronn here, which a certain Reginnent
grasped fanniliarly as they passcd by. I am hot at all sure
whether this was a profane act at ail, even though done in
jest. Myself, as I said on hearing it» I do hot feel hunnorous
about the dead at ail : I fcel nnore inclined to salure thenn :
in tact, whcn alon% I generally do. But it is not impos-
sible» I think» to see sonnething grinnly sacranncntal in this
curious greeting of theirs ; and I believe the shade of that
warrior snniled to see it, and knowing the hands that grasped
his tbr those of new connradcs, he would hot be troubled
at ail.
Oh! dcar» this is poor stufF. But what would you
bave ?



286 E.H.L.S. September i96

To ms MOrHER. B.E.F.
Selt" 77 I916"
Thcrc was a Rotor 1orry going from Brigade H.Q:_. to
Abbevillc at % carrying QEartcrm.stels and Mess Cor-
porals and casual officers in search of purchases of various
kinds ; and I wa» sent with our Q:_.M. (Pairie), to get
various odds and ends for any one that wantcd them. I
dare say it was a kind of excuse for gttting me a holiday but
anyway sundry officcrs arc the ficher by towcl G shaving
soap, slipper G win% tobacco (oh no; I lcçt that behind
at thc cantecn a bad business!)7 and so forth. Rather
good gaine, sceing all your money gradually thde away, and
then rcmcmbcring you'll gct it all back ncxt day.
ARcr a ROSt wonderful lidc wc round thc lorry gonc
Off hot having givcn us cvcn rive mmutcs ,racc. Whatour
Q_.M. did was to catch no lcss a man than thc A.D.M.S.
just leaving for the town in his aRbulancc. So we got on
that and were there in no tire. The Brigadier has a lovely
château' in the vallcy» and I noticed that lac has real
chairs to sit on ; I Rean» leather arm-chairs that one might
dream of in a dug-out ! But I suppose cvery one thinks lais
laeighbours are more cosy than himsclf in thc Army and
ccrtainly the B'dier did hot enjoy lais day any Rore than
did.
With us was an interprcterxvith tcrrific good rumours ;
rather tantalising this sort of thing I fear but you can't
havc thcse yet ]
You know there is a good deal to be said for riding of
a morning through the wondcrful country that is rcally
Francc ; real vallcys and hills» and a rcal harvcst waiting
to bc brought in» and real trces at which you look in surpris%
to sec if it is truc that they really bave thcir branclcs and



E. H. L.S. Septembcr 1916 2 8 7
are hOt torn from thcir roots by shclls. Een now, after
leaving the salient months ago, a valley of any pronounced
character still strikcs one as a glorious novelty.
Well, we reached thc town. Throughout thc day I ruade
the wineshop my depot (let me add hastily that it is a
whoesale place !) for myparcels, and after making a fcw pur-
chases I wcnt offto ste the cathedral. It stands wonder-
fully well above the neighbouring bouses, and though it is
hot like the Cathedral» it was quite cnough to make me
catch my breath» on secing its two towers suddenly round
the corner. Late Gothic» I suppos% but Gothic good and
unmistakable: and the boast on the west door, ' Dilexi
dccorcm Domus tuae' (dated J6z+» by the way), was worth
making.
There was a curious monument (I suppose to St.
Wulfran) standing in the middle of the chancel ; a gold,
mitrcd abbot, facing tl'.e congregation with so realistic an
attitude that I could hot» for a moment, be sure that it was
not some priest rcciting some very spccial office. Though
if s% and even if not s% why back to the Altar ?
Yes, indeed 1 stood still and praised God tbr that
façade. S% as usual, I went into my own place to pray.
I met tragedy, though, on my way out. (Mais» mon Dieu,
le beau tableau l) It was a black-clad woman sobbing into
ber handkerchief by a pillar near the west end, watchcd
commiseratingly by a girl with two little children. It was
a temptation, almost» to ambush her and murmur Du
courage * ' or something ofthe sort, but I thought not.
This is the sort of thing that makes me feel the incarnation
of selfishness, for really believing in my tbolish moments
that the \Var, takcn as a whole, is not such bad fun ....
Therc was ont quite famous half-hour or so, actually in
a second-hand bookshop, though OE½d. for reading Tle



E. H.L.S. September 9x6

Vision of Er (in an old collegiate edition, I suppose) is not
bad going!! True to my pedagogue instinct, perhaps, I
also got an old copy of Horace, just to throw away, and
a thing with Gerlnan in it. These wcre both well worth
getting, just for a fcw days, at least. Here I must stop,
as space is running out.

To HIS MOTHER. B.E.F.
Sept. 7, '9 6.
I read Tl, e Vision of :Er after breakfast ; .voilà assez !
Fussy, otherwise : fuss with that map of billets for the
Diviskm, mild fuss I mean; tl»e Battalion are hot worrying
me tbr it, but my incompetence is, and I am already sick
of compass bearings. Mild fuss, too with the football
arrangements, though Dennet is being splendid with them.

To ms FaTl-iS./. B.E.F.
ept. I916.
Books. Do send me some Novel (or something) that
people are talking about. What does one read, nowadays,
of anything ? My mind is a complete blank, and I get
daily stupider and more cabbage-like. Is there anything
in the 7 d. series (n% not tbat, I think) that is reaIly good
just now? Do you know that for over thirty days l've
not been near a place wherc you could buy anything in
print at all or anything else, and I'm simply starved (men-
tally, I mean !! hot otherwise) ? I lived for a week on
J. Verne's Centre de la Terre, borrowed from a school-
toaster at . Which reminds me, l've been terribly
starved for some devotional book, and if you could send
out one, Knox Little's, perhaps: oh dear, oh dear, look at
this list, and this request has corne nearly last ; it "s rathcr



E. H. L.S. September I 9 I 6 2 8
dreadful. Sornetirnes» in these little churches, I havc
pounced greedily» like a famished beast, on an old, tattered
volume of Huguenot or Roman serrnons, to catch any glimpse
of a message of exhortation frorn any casual line, and round
it, every tirne; but I ought to have written long ag% to
ask for sornething fuller ....
I believe the thing would be if I could have sornething
(turning to secular literature again) sent out pcriodically,
of a cheap nature, to leave and lose. One docsn't hopc to
return smoke% which cost more; and yet, just because books
will and rnust be lost now, one hesitatcs to ask for thcm.
is the wrong end of the stick, surely !

To HI$ FATHERo B.E.F.
Sept. 9, 1916-
1 Ciilian Reaction. st eek Sept. "6.
If it seems, as it probably does that my Ictters are about
anything but the Push and the War, this does hot so rnuch
imply a conscientious dread of the ccnsor (myself, rnainly)
as a rather definite feeling that, for the time, it is rather
good to have a change. And I bave had particularly good
opportunities ofletting thc War alone for a week, for I bave
been rnade to run a little cornmittee of three to look after
garnes', i.e. a concert, football, cross-country running,
and so forth ; and as this takes more rime than one might
think we have been given a good dcal of tirne free from
the hot very hurnorous parades which the Battalion bas
while out at test. I don't as a mattcr of fact, excuse rny-
self the early rnorning match (7.0-8.30, usually) because,
though I arn notoriously a horrible person to get out of bed,
I do definitely enjoy this show enorrnously, and it does a
little to keep one fit; so, though hot cornpelled, I generally go.
2135 U



9o E.H.L.S. September  9  6
Itis truc that l've been asked occasionally, ' What is it
that this lazy, mysterious Sports Committce docs ?" But
tcll them that itis their jealousy and ignorance that makes
them ask ! It's a bit like the Army, at first sight, to put
»te into Association Football, but I suppose an Old Bluc is
supposed to know something of how to start things of the
kind : that is ont explanation. Anyway, let me claire that
concert is being given to-night, and that out football
ground is rather remarkably good. So is the team, btt
we let thc Captain of thc side do all tlat, naturally, so the
aforesaid ' L.M.S. Committee" claires no credit there.
We beat the Trcnch Mortar Battery handsomely ycsterday.
However, what I was saying was that a reaction bas
rather set in, and for a week l've been rather cnjoying the
different outlook. Of course the visit to the big town 
was a day to remember ; but there was an excursion to a
smaller market-town, quite soon after we came here, which
stood out at the rime as a day of wonder. Remember, I
had not seen a shop for over thirty days ; and imagine
what it was like to be confronted, aRcr a delightful ride
with Heycocl, with two really standing strtets (no ruins),
full of little shops where :Cou could buy civilised things
like teacups, books (tbere were at least twenty, in ail, in
the village ; twenty volumes I mean !), and even shirts, to
say nothing of fruit and wine, etc. :but hot tobacco,
except the French, which is rather hopelcss, though I once
loved their cigarettes, 1 remember.
They know how to make omelettes thcre, too, but that's
by the way....
This is all very well, and of course the militarism must
corne back, and corne quickly. If the whole Army said
Now, Iet's be civilians', the Hun would bave a fine
rime! But I tell myself that perhaps it doesn't do much



E. H. L.S. September I 9 I 6 29 I

harm right back here for once ; and considering the total
abandonment of my civilian lire with which I took the
plunge into the Army, I see no reason to doubt my ability
to get back into the groove ! Let's hope so, as the groove
however narrow is, I take it, what I ara here to move in!

To H. E. E. Howsol. B.E.F.
Sept. 9,  9  6.
1 was just saying, overleaf, to mysdf, that 1 had met
a good man. Hc was dining at our Head Q9_arters the
other night ; 1 forgct his name, or rather 1 never heard it ;
but he was Adjurant Cambridge O.T.C., like Maclachlan
at Oxford. 1 said, when he came in to myself that you
would have callcd him a grcat man ; for when we were
introduced to him, aftcr getting up in the middle of our
dinner he took just no notice beyond a glance, and went
on peeling his coat. This was glorious and ail the more
because though he didn't care a damn what out names
were he made himself ver), entertaining at dinner.
We are for the moment miles upon toiles upon miles
behind the land of the  Push ', from which the Division
bas corne out: sufficient that we spent threc weeks there,
and the Division is supposed to have ruade a great naine.
Our Battalion was spoken very well of I hear ; we did not
make any very organised attack but were said to have held
on to the captured trenches in a satisfactory manner : we
had a longer go, naturally, than anybody else in the
Brigad% as it was not the turn of the Battalion to go over
the top this rime. I don't think 1 want to bother about
this Push just now, though. It is Autumn, and there are
good things about. And, between ourselves, that Wood"
i Delt'ille Wood



E. H. L. S. September 96

is not one of the better places. 1 said the Division had
been in for one dip in the Push»--you understand ....
Well, this morning there was the real hungry» academic
mist» that has marked the beginning of a new epoch every
autumn these twenty odd years in my memory. Last time
1 saw it begin would be somewhere near Ypres, 1 suppose.
There were also some unusually good trees about (they
look strang% somehow with their branches on); and there
was a deal of dew» and I confess I ran a few hundred yards
before I would consent to eat breakfast. Not much wind»
nor your cattle, x here; but what Phiz will remember as
«good birds' were eating placidly and rathcr enviably» in
a way. And though we cannot exactly be said to be
getting near a chance of fires--not the rires you mean any-
way !--we can still remember that it is going to happen
to you. Als% though I don't know how far this is due to
the autumn air which came like an inspiration from heaven
to-day we are beginning to think about books. The O.C.
(Garton) and I hav% during the last week held a series of
duets, wherein one says that the Army is a very stupefying
concern and leads one's mind to an entirely vegetable stat%
and the other says» « Yes» it's awful : we must do something
about it'. Nothing very much has come of this yet» but
we have ruade violent and curious resolutions; how we
will read books during the winter» solid indigestible books
into which one must get one's mental teeth, books with
backs lettered» blue and important» books the very sight of
which will restore our self-respect. Phi/osot, hy is all the
talk in the proposais» and we mentioned Pragmatism the
other day and I felt the Man's protest and warned myself»
 No% not too much jargon about « what works "'." This

* As seen in Westmorland.



E. H. L.S. September I 9 I 6 2. 9 3

intellectual renaissance contains some great moment with
regard to « Love in the valle), ".mG. was the first to quote
but then he can quote sta»s pede i» u»o/'or « duration"
and Rupert B., but I told you about that. Also I was per-
suade:t to read Bealby. And though the st),le of that
work is lamcntable and its tale irksom% it really marks
a big change, for for ycars l've read nothi»g nothing! ! . ..

To C. A. ALINGTON. Camp, behl»d tre»ches somehere.
Sept. 13, 1916.
Now» thank ),ou a thousand times tr your great lettcr.
Yes, I agrce about the hymn .x it is the one that matters,
and» thank God, so many men here entircl)' feel the truth
of the first two lines» whatever else the), believe. They
must» I think: it is so much less troubl% if only that
occurs to them as a reason !

To H. E. E. Howsol. 1 Camp.
Sept. 13, 1916.
Herewith, two letters 2 of the Man. One is a great letter
written beIbre his attack, the other one is one I got in April ;
it is very good and very typical, but I fear one page is
missing.
As for the Division in the last show, 1 told you, I think,
that ail the big men said wonderfully good things of it,
which is gratifying. By the time you get this» it will have
received the biggest compliment s ot all ; please tell C. A. A.
and Worcester, as, though I have told them, they will
 No. 53 5 in Hymns wl. and 214.
I.ord» it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or lire.
 See pages z37 and z56.
3 This refers to the attack which took place two days later.



294 E.H.L.S. September 96
like to hear again and letters are irregular and slow
just now.
C. A. A. bas been awfully good» and sent me out books
in reply fo my appeal. ¥ou were good enough to oflïer the
sae» Man» more than once» and if there were hot reasons
of space in my valise» 1 would bave accepted long ago.
O.er a month ago» though» we had to lighten out kits
belote we went into the Push» and that explains why we
bave had little to read. He bas sent ¢liftan 8chool lddresses,
by one Irwin» to-day» and Cha»ce» and Bigloa Pap«m» none
of which I know. If ail gocs well» we havc been thinking
ofread ing more in the future ." I believe Boswell or Mflitary
History are indicated. Man»if 1 write late G will you send
me a heavy» edifying work on M. History or Tactics ? I
feel very ignorant and stupid on this business» and there
may be a chance of mending!
Shrewsbury wiil» I suppos% be bcginning again soon after
you get this» and as I wrote in my diary» among a list of
good things» tkere will be Autumn Mists» and new tCaces»and
new books» and the sound of early footbaIl .... Ail that
is vcry good» and.the Man would bave liked to bave watched
a match with me out here» for it would have been full of
memories.
Not that I think he bas forgotten !

To HIS FATHER. B.E.F.
Sei0t. I+, 1916.'
You have, no doubt, by now got my letter explaining
more or less. But in any case there is no need to add
Inore, as I told Mure, except that I love you all very, very
dcarly, and that I believe» as I have said Vefore, that it is
good to be here.

' The day before his death.



E. H. L.S. July ,916 29)*

DIARY

uly zç, 96.
If was July 13, noon» when 1 got Phiz's letter that the
Man was missing ; July +» before I got a letter written in
reply. It was hard» because I seemed incapable of what
I called an attitude about ou,- Man ; it was a terribly
egotistical efkbrt, that letter» but all 1 could do seemed to
me tobe honest. Well» I could not feel the sort of mourn-
t'ul triumph which is apt to associate itselfwith some losses
--other people's especially (!); hot yet» anyhow. Nor
was it any good, the other extreme--  A complete knock-
out'. Nor when» as ] said»  I thought of many brave men»
and told myself I must be very stout-hearted. The Man is
dead: carry on.' For» at that» I me,'ely laughed at myself.
Was it not all out of a book and quite insincere ? Or, I
thought» with a great thrill of tears, as I paced that little
garden near the , full ofevery summer scent that went
so near the Man's heart» should I just write on a p. c.
CCredo,? Rathcr good» had I dared ; yct I think» some-
how, I would rather make that claire, the only one that
really matters in this lire, after all» to myself than announce
it as a fact (though I did suggest it to Phiz).
I ara so tired now (it is July-..ç), that I cannot make
out a recollectioa of »vhat else I said. But I rernember
saying to Ronnie in a letter that the sort of physical etk0,-t
of thrusting away unpleasant feelings (as over bad sights of
war, for example) seemed to be making itself felt here, hall
mechanically. One seems to treat ail feelings alike and
push them, or rather try to .push them» aside ; and that,
without regard to the true nature of the feelings in question.



296 E.H.L.S. July
And just because semi-physical, so this effort rires,
doubtedly. I should add that both Phiz and Ronnie wrote
wonderfil wondefful letters ; and that I think the answer to
his promise in his closing sentence is not being withheld.
Ah no: it is my last evening in this line (7.3o p.m.
July zT): things may be going to happen. There cannot
be any more faltcring over him. In God's great arithmeti G
said I to my father in a recent lettcr, l ÷ I in sorrows do
ot make .. Surely surely if all the world is not wrong,
I mz/st think ç All's well with our Man', al:ter all. He
knows too now I most deeply believ% he has round at last
his musi% his art and his loves ; and I think through ail
my sorrows» of him reaching down to his faltering friend»
»ot v:ithout many a prayer that I too, may somehow flud sight»
to see ohich oay it is oritten for me to go and neither to doubt
uor to complaln any more at ail.

1Vight uly z7-oE8. love.
Wc led on quickly by the north gate and out at once, so
as to avoid dawn on the Open Road. But it was daylight
when we got up and out though the mist prevented any
harm resulting from that. It was only about ç miles and
as always always thank God I recovered completely and
gloriously with the dawn. (Cf. the xS-mile route match
at night on the Plain.*) So much so that I had to embark
oa a needless and vehement row with K.P. over the
breakfast question in the big billet. This was silly: but
lcss so was the fact that I decided to get my own (and hOt
make pcople cook) in the village. This I did in a little
cottagc over the Scarpe but not belote I had a glorious
little bathe in the river. I only took a short header and
out-swim, owing to the long match ahead and the heat but
 See page 60.



E. H. L. $.
it was wondcrfully reviving.
' to-morrow ', though !

August x 9 x 6  9 7
By now 1 had fairly reached

"1o Grand Rullecourt. uly
A day oftremendous heat. It was always hot, hot ; and
strange thirst for most of the men, caused a good deal of
discomfort and a few fall-outs. We had a long halt Ibr
dinner somewhere near Hauteville in a field, and I dis-
covered again the merits of the Army stew on a hot day.
But we were all very distinctly tired when we reached
G. R. ; I perhaps rather particularly after pulling by his
rifle an actingcorporal, who had got rather done up by the
heat. There, at last lay the old village of the snows, ail
dusty in the sun ; and though we had hot time or energy
to pilgrim to the old billet where Songer, Coulson lrving,
Elliott and myself talked Browning and gramophone-music
of an evening, yet we did hot forger to remember some
good days when I had not yet, even once, lost the command
of the Company.

Candas : before going to Buire.
By the Railvvay. lug. 7, 1916.
There remains the high bank on which 1 lic behind the
lines and a perfectly idle afternoon, on which to watch from
it that kind of motion which is notoriously the most
excitinghthe to and fio of heavy trains. One such has just
gone by; sacred I think to the R.F.A., for most of the
uncountable trucks lad one of those remarkable soldiers
at least on board them, in various attitudes of repose.
Repose, certainly ; though few but soldiers would find it so.
In one there were men stretched gloriously asleep on the
floor seen through the halopen door; while over them
and nearly on them, stood their animais tethered and



298 E.H.L.S. August 96
patient, with the kind of silent wonder on their Faces which
one is accustomcd to find in pictures of the Nativity.
Repose, certainly, in the G.S. wagons, which, packed
on the trucks, carried a gunner or two on tl:e front seat,
exaltcd very high, and serene in air with cigarette and
magazine. Repose, too, I devoutly hope, for the animals as
well ; but eigbt borses to a wagon is a tight fit, I fear, and
ruade no less so by the spurious label ' Moutons ', which
ridiculously stands on their carriage wall. There: that
train is gone, with its endlcss rows oftrucks, and its serene
look of rest from the land of the ' Push'; and we are left
witbout a train (a moving one, anyhow) to watcb. « We'
are a goodly crowd for what is known as 'one tactical
train '
We are hot at ail perturbed by the delay ; at least, I think
hot: I know one officer who (after his manner) is loving
it. Tbe rest of two Battalions are stretched belote me,
about four deep among the rails, and I do hot think tley
are in undue hurr)'. A R.F.C. car dashes up beyond the rails,
and a D.R.L.S. (cyclist), or whatever he is, whizzes down
the road behind my head. Aeroplanes, of course, corne (with
their kind of coquettish curtsying, peculiar to tF, eir kind
when infantry are about), to see the trains and their loads ;
a Red Cross car flits in and out ofthe station ; Frenchmen
wander down the line in shirt-sleeves and white trousers, or
in a blue tunic and forage cap.
But nowhere is there much of a burry, thank God. It is
truc the guns are pelting away somewhere or other ; but
nobody Cal-es. The sun shines over our shoulders, and it
is the infantryman's da}, out. Every moment sees him,
indeed, a thought more comfortable ; and as I write, he is
aiready beginning to get his tea.



E. H. L.S. August I 9 I 6 2 9 9
lug. zS.
Thc line I took was a ver}, ordinary one» and was merely
to the effect that I did not at all regard tle scicnce x as
nonsense--it would be silly to sa}, that to one who had bccn
rccommendcd to it by Sir Oliver Lodge !--but that» tili
it advanced farther» I did hot like thc idea of my friends
burning thcir fingers ; using the figure of a new surgical
opcration. A selfish and unliberal view» probably» but at
present I do hot see past it. I did also say onc or two
things» with no ver}, ccrtain voicc» about the faith ....
Wc wcrc tircd when wc dctrained at God knows whcrc
for a three-rnilc marcl b and thc rncn wcre glad to gct down
to yet another bivouac. Tca was got for thcm» sornchow»
and thcy were allowed to slcep in peace for a good time : and
so were wc. H.G. and 1 livcd in the wee room by the yard»
where the gunners carne to drink cidcr of an evcning (how
good it ail sounds from hcrc» behind thcWood» and how
little we appreciatcd out trcrncndously good fortunc !)7
and the others in a bivouac. And ail thc while thc lovcly
river ran behind the trces» full» full of Wiltshire and thc
Downs» with an adorable weir by which one grand rnorn-
ing I sat with that copy of old Lamartin% borrowed from
the village schoolmasterah» but that must be returned
please God !
And therc it was that the grand doctor and I would have
bathed but wcre prevented by a wholly darnnable but
perhaps not quite fitilc» parade. There too it was that I
sailcd my boata F. S. postcard makes a grand onc
and followcd it eagerly under the anxious eyes of tle gun-
ners on the bank. I will do it again if we get therc.
Perhaps wc may. Is it on the road to Am,ens I wonder ?
Supposing we went there!!
 Psychical science.



3 oo E.H.L.S. August  9' 6
Ce serait moi qui chanterais,
Ce serait moi qui chanterais,
Dans votre catbédrale!--
I ara a poor soul, and thus it was that my grand moments
were rather limited to the pre-breakfast period. I would
go along the wood road to the railway, and look in at the
little chocolate and memento-card shop, or while away rime
buying ink and absurd stationery at the chemist'smwho
does hot» however, sell ail he ought--or I would look in
at the church: there are few I have been near without
going in for many a long month now, tnereby shewing how
lamentably like I ara to C. A. A.'s man who goes to get
religious emotions anywhere, and then cornes back and is
« no kinder to his Aunt'
And aRer breakfast, somehow, the rime would also be
glorious till about nool " for always dreaming» dreaming, as
evcr, I would walk round until the rifle parade and the test
of it came along : and then, by the afternoon tire% I would
write hurried letters to overdue people» with a rather less
keen taste of life ; till finally round came the night parade»
and with it always the splendid and eternally unique
expectation of 2lorning.

page or to of Good Things.
These are some of the things I love, and God pity those
who find nothing dear among them ail.
Maps ; and route marches. And Gothic architecture
yes» and the little Village Spire rising out of the green. And
Hills ; hills from the plains, or the plains from the hillsI
do hot know which is better. Autumn Mists, and new
Books, and the Sound of Early Football ; and» with that,
Large Table and a Scholar's Morning and the Memory



E. H. L.S. September I 9 I 6 30 [
of Many Patient Men unsung. Small brooks and sluices
amid the water-meadows, and their rceds like tongues
of tire: and great rivers also, and big ships that ride
them in the harbour. And Dust in carly spring, and
the great white road swinging over the Dovns, and the
lane that brings you to the fairies in thc loncly dinglc.
13ach's Fugues also, and the sad songs of much infantry
singing together. And bridges, whether over water or rail»
especially if there is the sun dancing over ail. And grcen
fields after London» but more» London after the wilderness.
Old books and their fragrance and their cndlcss columns.
And Paintings by Murillo: horscback at dawn: railway
journeys» long and book-full : and ,unning but hot fast or
far ; fol" I ara a poor athlete. Sleep ; and food aftcr hunger ;
and drink after thirst, especially iro;vn Army Tea in the
heat: and trees» especially the silver bilch and the slim
lady poplar : and French peasants and their kind farewells :
and Eon's fields under midsummer floods in boilingJune,
with the Winchester Match to follow. 13ells, espccially in
the less dcar places for these bring a swiftcr memory ; as
you may hear in thc ward at Hazebrouck» and rememher
many great towers and little beifrics of home. And thtre
are good things to be done in a boat with the right man
to help» and the right part of the river to do tEem in, and
no crowds shouting» unless it be in the re-told tales when
thc lamps are lit and the row is over. And that is a good
moment when the dusty Company piles arms in bivouac
after a long day ; but less good than  Stand Dowu ' after a
night of watching, when the larks fly ncutral over No Man's
Land and the sun has madc up his mind. And the ancient
Greek tongu% because it is thc perfcct tongue ; and the
Latin» because it has fought and conquered the centuries.
And a high wind on the Shropshire hilis is good» and the



E.H.L.S. September 96

smell of hay at evening. And the theatre and full-hearted
applaus% such as men and women give in England» but not
in France» where they doit for hire. And best surely is
the coming home on leave of a soldier !
But most, far most of ail» that which 1 most rarely find ;
and what itis you will look in vain to guess for I cannot
and will not tell.